


A Knocking at the Door

by ThatOneFangirlTho



Series: A Knocking At The Door (Underfell AU) [1]
Category: Alternate Universe- Underfell - Fandom, Underfell - Fandom, Undertale
Genre: A sad attempt at a fight, Alternate Universe- Underfell, Complete, FINISHED!!!!!, Fighting, Fluff, Hey look my tagging hasn't improved, I NEVER THOUGHT THE DAY WOULD COME!!, I made a quick OC lol, I see UF Toriel as like UT Toriel but slightly meaner, Light Angst, Mission Gone Wrong, MoAR FiGhtS!, Near death experiences!, Never mind I take the update tag back, Sickness, dont listen to when i say I'll update unless it's in the next day or so, i only posted this bc I needed my nails to dry, i was writing while I was waiting for cookies to bake: therefor I have no life, mentions of abuse, or my writing probably, random (weekly ish) updates!, soriel? Kinda? Not really..., splotches of pasts, swearing!, what? Some people like my trash?, yep no life here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-08
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-09-07 05:55:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 36,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8785720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatOneFangirlTho/pseuds/ThatOneFangirlTho
Summary: Sans, badly beaten by his brother, goes to his friend from the ruins for help.  But with his injuries and his dissaperaence from Snowdin, what is to come on both sides of the door?(Crappy summary is still really crappy)





	1. Chapter 1: and so it begins

**Author's Note:**

> I had an idea for basically a Sans-gets-hurt-and-has-to-run-away-to-the-ruins,-then-papyrus-finds-him-there-and-angst-or-something....  
> Don't judge me...  
> Enjoy!

There was a knocking at the ruins door. The woman on the other side was almost angry, he was late and she had thought he had been killed. However, she could find no anger in the relief that washed over her in that moment. “Knock… K-knock…” Came his voice from the other side, sounding very weak and shaky. “Who is there?” She quickly responded. “H-help…” He said softly. She paused for a moment upon hearing this. “Help… Help who?” She continued. “help me… P-please, please help…”

 

That had her attention. She immediately turned to the door, placing her hands on it as if to put her hands on the shoulders of the monster on the other side of the door. “What is wrong, my friend?” She asked with genuine concern in her voice. She had really no one else in the ruins to talk too and knew that the world outside the ruins had become cold and evil under Asgore’s rule. The monster she joked with and talked too might be the nicest monster out there and even he seemed to be affected by the harsh law of ‘kill or be killed’. He was a friend to her in her eyes, maybe even more, and hoped that he saw her in the same way she saw him.

 

“I-I need you… T-to open the d-d-door…” He replied, striking a nerve in the other monster. She withdrew slightly from the door. “Why would you need that?” She asked slowly, skepticism lacing her voice now. “I-I only… Have one HP…” He began, “and I'm v-very h-hurt…” She questioned in her mind how a one HP monster could even be alive out there, but stopped. This was her friend that had showed up most every day just to talk to her and tell her jokes after she had responded to his comedy so positively. 

 

“Can I really trust you?” She asked cautiously.

 

“I-I have shared w-with you some of my troubles, t-that's showing weakness… I can't even show that a-around my b-brother…” His volume decreased and became laced with sadness as he spoke. “Lady, if I d-don't get some help s-soon, I'll be d-dust… Please help…”

 

She sighed and stood up. “Only for you would I do this…” She murmured. She then reached and opened the door, not knowing what to expect. What she saw made her clasp her hands to her mouth to avoid showing the horror that filled her. A small skeleton monster stood there with broken, bleeding, and cracked bones showing through torn and tattered clothing. This badly startled her, and she didn't think she wanted to know what had happened. 

 

He tried to walk forwards, limping slowly into the hallway his companion was standing in. It appeared he was limping with his left leg which appeared fractured in at least two places that were visible. He held his right arm with his other , that was also clutching at his shoulder blade and back. A few broken ribs poked out through his shirt, and there were some holes in his heavy looking black jacket. A series of cracks ran across his skull, and to top it off, he was covered in blood. “Oh my, you poor thing!” She shouted. 

 

She closed the door and bent down to his level. “I will do anything to help you, just tell me what you need,” she said quickly as she continued to look him over. “Heh...heh heh… That's a first” he half laughed as he teetered forward, his weakened state starting to truly get to him. However, she caught him before he met the hard floor. She lifted him up and walked to her home. “And it won't be the last time either…”


	2. On the other side of the door...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We spend some time with Papyrus, and see some of his side of the story. (I would add 'as well as some of his feelings' but he isn't supposed to have those)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be longer I promise!   
> But for now, ENJOY!

It had been over a day since Papyrus had last seen his brother. Not that he cared, but it was still very strange to not have seen him. Papyrus had beaten his brother for embarrassing him in front of Undyne, and possibly gone a a little too far with the beating… Not that it mattered. Afterwards he had literally kicked his brother out of the house, but Papyrus expected him to come crawling back to him on his hands and knees. However, that had not happened. 

 

As the second in command of the Royal Gaurd made his way abut his rounds in Snowdin that day, there was no sign of his brother. He had felt an odd feeling when he got home, hearing nothing but the silence that was left in the house. It was eerie without any sound, even to him. There would normally be some sort of shuffling or the sound of Sans moving about in his room upstairs, but there was no sound… There was no Sans…

 

If Sans had survived the beating he had received, he would have surely been killed by some monster out there. After all, an injured monster, none the less with Sans’s sad health, is practically a dinner bell. Just free EXP. Even if he had somehow not have gotten dusted by any monster already, he would probably starve or freeze in the harsh environment. 

 

Shaking himself from his thoughts, he grunted and stood up. A walk would clear his mind. Papyrus walked out the door, locking it behind him. The last thong he needed was to have his house broken into. As he walked through Snowdin the cold flakes fell down softly on his bones. The white flakes joined the grey ones on the ground, turning it ever so slightly a shade lighter. 

 

The tall skeleton did not think about any particular destination, he just walked. Since he was the lieutenant of the Royal Guard, he didn’t have to worry about being jumped by many monsters. The only monsters that were stupid enough to attack him were after his position. It was almost… Peaceful outside. Well, it was until he realized that he had ended up at Sans’ sentry station. It was empty. Like Papyrus’ house, and something like how a small part of him felt. Realizing that he had been staring at his brother’s empty sentry station for a good few minutes, trying to sort his own emotions, he pushed them down and started the walk home. He was not worried about his brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the support!   
> I have like no self esteem so even a kudo from a guest makes me happy...  
> But anyway like I said, the next chapter will be much longer than the previous two, and probably posted in the next day or so... Although I have not looked into chapter four at all. Ha ha... Ha...
> 
> *a random note for whoever is reading this for some reason  
> There was like a mini comic con at my school, so I did an Undertale pannel. We were allowed to cosplay as whatever, so I went as Gaster... Then this little kid in a Napstablook costume came up to me and asked "can I have a picture with you?"   
> And I was like "yes you smol child, of corse!"   
> Then his dad took a picture of us. And it makes me so happy to actually be able to see people in my type of school environment get to relate like that. It made me so happy just to be there and educate people in Undertale. 
> 
> Ok, I need to proofread the next chapter... 
> 
> Oh by the way I wrote this chapter in like half an hour, so please tell me if you think things are moving too fast, or if there are any grammar mistakes (because I really don't proofread these enough to be able to catch grammar mistakes). 
> 
> Thank you all!


	3. *smells like pie...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back in the Ruins, Sans awakes to a soft bed and the smell of fresh pie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? Two Posts within minutes of each other? That's crazy! and also what I just did...   
> Anyway, I wouldn't expect this rapid updating again, because I want some more feedback on the speed I am taking things, and just my writing in general before I start the next chapter.   
> Thank you all!  
> ENJOY MY RANDOM CRAP!!!!!

He woke up in a warm room that smelled of fresh pie. At first, he thought nothing of it and snuggled shamelessly deeper into the soft covers on the bed. Wait… Bed? That woke him up alright. The small skeleton shot up from under the blankets, wincing at the echoes of pain in his bones, and looked at the unfamiliar surroundings. 

 

He was in what he could only assume would be a child's bedroom, for the room was filled with different toys and stuffed animals. There was a drawing of a flower on the wall above a toy chest that most likely held more wonders for children. Next to the bed he was in, there was a wooden wardrobe made for storing clothes he guessed. There was also a chair near the side of the bed for whatever reason. He tried to sit up further to see if there was anything else on the floor, but the faded waves of pain that shot through his body stopped him from moving further. 

 

After a few seconds, he remembered what had happened with his brother, and how the lady behind the door had let him in. He looked towards some of his worse injuries and saw that they had been healed as much as the wounds had allowed. He was still in his ragged, bloodied clothes, and for that, he was kinda thankful. He really didn't want her removing his clothing. He blushed lightly at the thought. He didn't remember anything past entering the door, and was still in shock after what his brother had done. Suddenly, the door opened slowly, allowing light to shine in on him. The lady was standing in the doorway, holding something in her hands. She smiled when she saw he was awake. 

 

By what he could see of her appearance, she seemed to be a tall goat woman, and her face held a sweet smile. Her robes were slightly ragged at the ends and her eyes were red, but other than that he could see no other evidence that the law of ‘kill or be killed’ had reached into the ruins, especially after she had brought him in and healed him. He smiled slightly at the thought that not everyone had been turned into heartless beings that committed violence without cause. He smiled because… He had a friend. 

 

“Hello, I have brought you some fresh pie,” she said, entering the room. She slowly walked towards him, and sat in the chair next to the bed. He ignored his mind answering his unspoken question of the chair’s placement, and focused on the slice of pie she had on the tray. He eyed it suspiciously for a moment, but it had been a few days since he had been allowed to eat anything but the mustard he had stashed under his sentry station. The woman had helped him after all, so why kill him now?

 

She rolled her eyes upon seeing his suspicion, and handed him the plate. He seemed to come to an internal agreement with himself and reached to grasp the plate. He seemed to tense up as he held it, his bones undoubtedly sore from the wounds they previously had. She picked up the fork and he took it as well, starting to eat the pie. She could see his eyes brighten up some upon tasting it. 

 

This made her smile, and she went to the kitchen to return the tray and get him something to drink. After she had returned with a cup of water, he had finished the pie and was holding the plate. “Would you like some water?” She asked him. He nodded slowly, so she took the plate with the fork and traded it for the glass of water. “T-thank you…” He said just before she left the room. 

 

When she returned again, this time with a small folding table, she sat down in the chair again, placing the table next to the head of the bed. “What is your name?” She asked him. After he gently placed the now half empty glass on the table, he stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Name’s Sans, sans the skeleton. What’s yours?” 

 

“My name is Toriel, it is nice to finally meet you…” She continued, “even under these circumstances…” Toriel’s voice darkened as she spoke, making Sans tense slightly. “Thanks again for helpin’ me out here, and, uh…. Well, i’d be dust if it wasn't for you.” Her face softened at his gracious tone, and she continued their conversation. “It is really no trouble, Sans, I would… Just like to know what happened to have inflicted so much harm on you…” 

 

Sans dropped his eyes to the ground as he reflected on what had happened to put him in that state. His hands came forth from his pockets and he started to nervously mess with the fluff in his hood. He almost started to say something, then closed his mouth, not knowing what to expect reaction-wise. She looked him in the eyes, hers filled with deep concern, pushing him to continue with what he was going to say. “W-well, remember that I mentioned my brother… Hitting me sometimes?” He seemed to shrink down as he spoke, his voice portraying his nervousness. 

 

“H-he was the one t-that…” San’s eye sockets filled with tears, and he began shaking slightly. “I-I don't really e-even know why h-he…” Sans spoke softly, a few tears slipping down his cheek bones. Toriel dropped her eyes downwards and looked away from him. “It’s okay, you can stop now…” She told him, resting her hand on his trembling ones. When he looked up at her, he could see a fire in her eyes. Everything was quiet for a moment, nothing but the sounds of their breathing and San’s soft sobs penetrated the silence around them. 

 

“How long has this been going on?” Toriel asked cautiously, breaking the silence.

 

“...” 

 

The silence returned, each unsure what to say next. Now that he thought about it, it had been happening for at least several years, and any previous time of happiness seemed so far away. “L-least a couple years… It's hard to remember when it wasn't that way.” Toriel looked aside again, then back at her friend. He seemed so… broken, and she hated it. 

 

“You do not have to go back, if you do not want to.” San’s head snapped up to attention upon hearing this. “You can stay here, if you would like. It is safe here, and he could not hurt you. Not ever again…” Her face contorted with disgust upon mentioning his brothers existence. Sans looked up at her with wide, disbelieving sockets. “N-no Toriel, I couldn’t, Boss would kill me if he-” 

 

“Boss!? Your own brother makes you call him Boss?” Toriel almost shouted, interrupting Sans. 

 

“W-well y-yeah, I… Guess so…” His eye sockets darkened.

 

“Please, Sans, please, please stay here, you would be safe and never have to worry ever again,” Toriel said as she continued to try to persuade him to stay. They're were quiet for a moment, each considering their options. Sans had realized that she was actually serious about letting him stay, and would probably protect him if need be… But no matter how much Papyrus has hurt him, he couldn't stop loving his boss, he was still his brother, no matter how much Papyrus insisted they were not brothers. Sans would always be his brother… But Papyrus was probably better off without him anyway… His boss was always telling him that he was weak, useless, and was nothing more than a weight holding him back from his true power. Now that Sans thought about it, it was probably true. It's not like Papyrus actually cared anyway, no matter how much Sans loved him and wanted to be his brother, Papyrus would only hurt him instead, and he would probably continue to do so as well as never care. Eventually he would end up like this again, beaten, starved and asking for help from someone who he didn't know her name until five minutes ago. 

 

“... Okay, I-i’ll think about it…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this moving too fast?  
> (I hope it's ok with everyone, because I am really bad at filler and stuff like that...)  
> Anyway, if you have for some reason read all this, both the story and the notes thank you for giving a writer like me a chance. I really appreciate it!   
> Thank you all!!!
> 
> (Ugh I need sleep... I only had three house last night and I had two major tests earlier today... My brain is fried... Like I opened a book upside down and went, " I broke it." I was so freaking confused until my friend flipped it over. I just kinda stared at it after that though...)


	4. The history of the underground by Toriel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans and Toriel talk at their makeshift table about the previous queen's past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha I lied  
> I'm posting today  
> I just finished most of my homework, and I was waiting for some cookies to bake, so I figured I'd update since I had just finished the chapter.
> 
> I have been getting lots of positive feedback on this so far and I would like to thank you all for the support!  
> (And if I don't comment back to you it's probably because I have too much homework or my device is being stupid)
> 
> ENJOY!!!!
> 
> (Oh, here's a cookie! *chucks cookie into the comments section  
> It's chocolate chip, made from scratch!  
> I made them for my show tomorrow, but that's not important)

It had been another day, and Sans’ wounds were faring very well. They still ached when he moved in certain ways, but he could still get around the house in the ruins. Sans had mostly been working on finding his way about the house so that he could use his shortcuts, if he ever needed to blip across the house for some emergency reason, he would want to be prepared. He was unsure if he would end up revealing his abilities to Toriel, and was even more unsure of how she would respond. Therefore, he decided to just keep quiet for now. 

 

Sans figured that both he and Toriel were fairing well with the sudden changes in the home; with Toriel having company, and Sans having company that wasn’t constantly beating him or hurling insults at him for seemingly no reason. In the home of his lonely friend, he was content, and possibly even happy. The previous day had been spent with the two monsters attempting to get to know one another, learning each other's favorite things (which Sans did not have many of), and small tidbits about each other's past. Although what they knew about each other was still very veuge, he felt he had gotten to know her pretty well for only having known her name and what she looked like for a little less than a day. 

 

He and Toriel had spent part of the night telling jokes through the bedroom door, like it used to be. Sans was still unsure about staying, but was so far inclined to permanently take up her offer. Like she had said, he wouldn't ever have to be worried about anything, he would always have food and someone to talk to, he could even show weakness, something he would have been beaten for in his past household. He chuckled silently thinking about his brother. Pap- no, Boss probably didn't notice Sans was gone… He probably didn't miss him, no scratch that, he was most likely overjoyed that Sans was gone. He was probably happy…

 

The light filtered in from the crack beneath the door, telling him that Toriel was now awake and active. He stretched (although it still hurt to do so) and stood up, making his way out of bed. The room had been changed around some, now missing the toys and childs things, which were now in the room that was ‘under renovations’. Toriel had even fixed his clothes and washed them for him, so now they were clean and sewn up. 

 

He walked out of the room and made his way down the hallway, yawning and covering his mouth with his hand. When he arrived in the kitchen, Toriel was preparing breakfast, what looked like two omelets with some snail pie on the side. “Mornin’ Toriel,” he said, walking over to her. She turned around to see him walking towards her, and she smiled. She was very happy the short skeleton had come to trust her so quickly. 

 

“Good morning, Sans. Did you rest well?” She asked him. He was now leaning against the counter top near where she was fixing their meals. “Yeah, I slept like the dead.” She had to clap her hand to her mouth to keep from laughing out loud, almost dropping the plate she was holding in the process. Sans smile widened and he snickered at her reaction. “Why don’t you go wait for breakfast? It will be ready in just a minute or so.” 

 

“okay,” he said, turning and walking back into the living room, where they had set up the extra chair and fold out table to serve as a dining spot for the two monsters. He sat down in the chair across from Toriel’s reading chair, where he had also sat the previous evening. Like she had said, the wait was not long before the food was ready. After she set down the plates, she went back to the kitchen and returned with a glass of water and a glass of mustard. Sans had no clue how she even got food down here, but he was still very grateful for having it, despite not needing much food to survive. 

 

At first they ate in silence, enjoying the meal that had been prepared, but then Sans got around asking what Toriel’s life was like. At first this seemed to rattle her some, but then she regained her composure and answered him. “Just before you arrived, it was pretty boring,” she admitted. “Although the Ruins may be safe, they also aren't the most fun place ever. I used to take daily walks around the Ruins to check up on the puzzles and traps. 

 

Other than that I would read, or bake, but talking you was always the highlight to my day,” she finished. Sans looked at her for a moment deform saying “no, how about before being in the ruins? We're ya ever even anywhere else?” 

 

The look he had received when he had first asked came back. She was silent for a moment, her eyes darting to the ground as if in deep thought. “Yes… since I was the queen, I lived in the castle with King Asgore, as well as my children, Asriel and Chara. It was nice at the time, when the underground was not a place of ‘kill or be killed’...” She said looking upward, lost in some memory. “It was only when I lost my children and Asgore started killing all of the other children that fell down that I ran here…” and the underground fell into darkness Sans thought to himself, finishing the over view of what had happened to the underground. 

 

Whelp, now Sans felt kinda stupid for asking. Everyone had heard the story of Asriel and Chara, minus the part where the Queen ran to the Ruins. Now that he thought about it, he really should have connected the dots earlier. A light sweat appeared on his skull as his thoughts raced through his head. Looking back at Toriel, she looked sad, eyes droopily looking towards the floor, he felt really bad for asking in the first place. Now he didn't know what to say to break the ice that had settled between them. 

 

“But as I was sitting by the door one day, wallowing in my own self pity, I heard some sort of thud from the other side,” she said, bringing her eyes higher, but still not facing Sans, her face turning to something like bittersweet. “I was sure that Asgore had finally decided to come for me, seeing as how I had failed with saving all the other fallen children, to take me back to the castle. Or try to, for I would have put up a fight… But it was not him.” She looked at Sans now. “It was you.

 

You had leaned against the door and slid down, and when you got comfortable, you started to tell knock knock jokes, puns, and anything it seemed you could think of. I listened the entire time, laughing silently, until you left.” Sans was looking at her with an empathetic expression upon his skull. “I didn't think you would return, but you did. The next day, and almost every day after that. It kept going like that for a few months, until I gathered the courage to respond.” 

 

“R-really?” He asked her, some disbeleif in his tone. “Well yes, and since then you have always there to talk to me, tell new jokes, and make me laugh. You were always changing, never the same like the rest ofmy life. Well, you always showed up on your workdays, that was consistent,” she said, smiling softly. 

 

Sans flushed slightly. “Heh, Toriel, believe it or not, talking to you was the highlight of my day too. I could let my guard down and actually talk to somebody about, I don't know, anything really…” She gave him a smile, meeting his gaze. “Well it is a good thing then.” They smiled at each other and continued their meal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp, there is another chapter!  
>  Hope you Enjoyed (like most of you already seem to be doing already)!!!!!!!
> 
> Anyway, I am not sure about when I will post next, due to the holiday season. I have to have a crossstitch finished for the beta club convention in January, and I may or may not have only come up with the very complex design... So, I will either post a lot, or possibly none at all. I am almost sure that I will post during the holidays, but if I don't, I'm caught up with schoolwork and family.   
> But don't worry! I will never abandon this story! NEEEVVVEEERRR!!!!
> 
> But make sure to tell me if I make any mistakes and tell me what I should improve on! Plenty of you are already telling me what I am doing right and I am very grateful for the support. It just makes my day to read all these comments!
> 
> As for the next chapter, (here is a little preview thingy)
> 
> Toriel will attempt to teach Sans to bake a butterscotch cinnamon pie!  
> After that chapter, prepare for Papyrus feeling like a jerk  
> It's coming I promise!


	5. Oops...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus realizes he has feelings, but he can't decide if it is for better or for worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DONT LISTEN TO ME WHEN I SAY IM GONNA UPDATE APPARENTLY  
> ok anyway, so this is a little build up before the true guilty Papyrus, which we will see in the next chapter, which is already written, and will update in like then next couple minutes.
> 
> Anyways, ENJOY AS ALWAYS!!!

Sitting at what was previously Sans’s post was no fun at all for Papyrus. He had been sure that Sans would continue his duties even after was kicked out of the house, but even if he had, papyrus was partially to blame there. If his brother was not dead yet, somehow, he was not continuing his duties due to being replaced by Undyne. She had replaced Sans without Papyrus’ knowing, causing the chain of events that med to Papyrus sitting here now. 

 

The new recruit had been from the Capitol, and was looking for some more breathing room than the large city had to offer. So Undyne saw that in her paperwork and then assigned him to Snowdin in Sans’ place to see how he did. The monster had even gotten to stay in the Rabbit’s Inn for a month, if he had lived that long. 

 

Unfortunately for that monster, after Papyrus had gone to check Sans’ station, definitely not to check for his brother, Papyrus had caught sight on the monster. He had been wearing a black coat so similar to the short skeleton’s coat that upon seeing him in his own coat, Papyrus dusted him without a thought. 

 

The only thing that was left was his coat, and Papyrus had run over to it as if his life depended on it. The tall skeleton had gripped it tightly in his grasp, looking for some sign that it hadn't belonged to his brother. 

 

Which he got when he saw a photo of the monster with some other monsters and saw that the fur in the hood was a different color. That and the jacket did not have Sans’ name written on the inside of the right pocket, the golden zipper, and it lacked the smell of mustard and light smell of blood. 

 

Whoops.

 

So Undyne got pissed at Papyrus for dusting the new recruit and his punishment was to take his place until a new recruit was found, and be stripped of all other titles for a week. So Papyrus was basically trying not to lose his mind and dust half the town at the moment. 

 

But in his mind, he was fighting an internal battle and losing. He knew that love was a weakness that he was able to go on without for a long, but now he was struggling with the emotions he knew he shouldn't show. He was pretty sure that he cared for his brother, even after all the pain Papyrus had caused him, even though it was a weakness. He couldn't decide weather he cared or not. 

 

He had shown his emotions long ago, when he and Sans were children, but upon realizing that the underground saw it as a liable weakness, he quickly tried to shut them off to the world. Unfortunately, part of the world included his brother. 

 

He had seen that Sans was suffering under his decision, but he figured that he could help to toughen up his brother, as to not have Sans be chewed up and spit back out by their heartless world. However, now that he thought of it, his methods of ‘training’ had seemed to make everything worse. It had caused the shorter skeleton to become weaker and fearful of his own brother… Heh, he probably didn't even care about Papyrus anymore… But he honestly couldn’t blame him.

 

The vibration of his phone shocked him from his thoughts. He could have mentally slapped himself for letting his guard down in public, and for so long too. The vibrations of his phone were the result of the alarm he had set for himself to remind himself that ‘his’ shift was over. After gathering his thoughts and regaining his cold composure, he stalked off to his home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, as for my excuse, this was my past weekend and Monday in a nutshell:  
> Grandma: do you need any boots?  
> Me: yep  
> Grandma: what kind? Rain boots, Muck boots, dress boots?  
> Me: all of the above
> 
> Not two seconds later
> 
> Grandma: ok, do you want to go get new shoes?  
> Me: not in the slightest!  
> Grandma: really?  
> Me: yep! I find clothes and shoes shopping very aggravating
> 
> One meal at chick-fil-a later
> 
> Grandma: ok let's go get you new shoes  
> Me: (on the inside) UUUUURRRGGGGHHHH
> 
> TWO. HOURS. LATER.
> 
> *walks out with two new pairs of nice boots and sneakers  
> Grandma: I hope you know that's coming out of your Christmas!  
> Me: w h a t ?  
> Grandma: yep, $150 off your Christmas!  
> Me: I DIDNT WVEN WANT THESE FREAKING SHOES  
> Grandma: off your Christmas!
> 
>  
> 
> Yeah... *sigh  
> Sorry  
> I couldn't even write while I was there. Because every three seconds they are like 'What are you doing?!' And they are the really strict grandparents that are like even more strict than your parents that dont understand how far I have sunken into this fandom!
> 
> *exhale  
> Sorry!


	6. That damn dog!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus arrives home, still troubled by his conflicted feelings, and discovers a dog upstairs. The dog leads to another discovery...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look, I was right about update time for once!  
> I still want to thank everyone for the support and all the nice comments I've been getting! 
> 
> ENJOY!!!!!!!

After the tall skeleton had arrived at his house, he could not shake his thoughts in the silence and lack of anything else to do at the moment. The questions jabbing themselves at his brain like knives. He just couldn't seem to stop thinking about it now. 

 

There were many voices asking him different questions, such as ‘why would you do this?’, or ‘when are you going to actually look for him?’. But the loudest, above all other thoughts shouted ‘do you think he even cares about you anymore?’. And in being honest with himself, Papyrus didn’t know. 

 

From what little he remembered from their childhood, Sans had always cared for him and dedicated his entire life to raising his brother. He had given up everything for him, letting him eat when there wasn't enough for both of them, caring for Papyrus instead of any kind of schooling or training, giving him his jackets when they had first entered Snowdin… But even then, after what Papyrus had done to him later in life, he didn't know if he even ever deserved to be forgiven. Now that he thought about it, he probably didn’t. So Sans probably wouldn't care for him anymore either. 

 

A thud from upstairs had him whirling around to face the stairs. The sound had come from the direction of Sans’ room, or what was his room… Standing up and freeing himself from his thoughts once more, he summoned a blood red bone and crept up the stairs. Had Sans come home and snuck up to his room while Papyrus was at his shift? He was thinking over how he should react to that, if it was the case, as he approached the door. It was closed, but not locked. 

 

Sucking in a breath, he poised to attack and rapidly opened the door. He froze as he saw it was just a normal and messy as it usually was. The room consisted of a bookshelf that was attached to a desk, both stacked with books and papers. There was a self sustaining tornado of trash and more papers in the opposite corner, near the door. The other wall, the one which the door opened to, was cracked extensively from where Papyrus had slammed it open in the past. He cringed internally as he saw it, guilt sinking into his soul. He really hadn't been treating Sans well at all…

 

One of the basic necessities the room lacked was a bed. And a pillow. And a blanket. Instead there was a clear patch of floor near the window that was the general spot where Sans had slept in the past. Papyrus had taken them away after he had started ‘training’, and his guilt only increased. 

 

Suddenly, a small bark had him looking at the ground. There was a little white dog staring up at him happily, it's tongue loling out of it's mouth. How had the dog gotten in Sans’ room? Angered by the slight false hope that the sound, created by the dog, had given him, he shot out a bone attack at the small white monster. But his attack hit empty space. ‘What the?!?’ He thought as he looked for the dog. It barked, leading his eyes to the spot where Sans had slept, lying down as if the dog were pretending to be his brother. 

 

The grief he felt caused him to strike out again, but the dog once again disappeared and reappeared in a different spot in the room. This continued for a few minutes, Papyrus lashing out at the dog, only for it to magically reappear in a different spot, leading to fuel Papyrus’ anger and guilt, causing him to lash out at the monster again, leading to restart the cycle. What finally stopped the cycle was when one of Papyrus’ attacks knocked down a stack of books, causing one to fly open before him. 

 

He stopped when he saw what lie in the pages of the open book before him. There was a picture of a young Sans and Papyrus, as well as a tall figure he couldn’t make out. Sans was tightly holding his brother, Papyrus hugging back, both with the ide smiles on their faces. The other figure had his hands on the shoulders of the two skeleton brothers. Curious about the context around the image, he bent down and picked up the open book. 

 

It was captioned ‘The Skeleton Family at the Lab’. Papyrus sat there for a moment, studying the image and rereading the caption. He was awe struck due to discovering that he had someone else in his family, they he couldn't remember for whatever reason, and the fact that Sans had kept something like this when he could have thrown it away or destroyed it. There was some more text underneath, reading; ‘Paps and I went to the lab with Dad today! It was cool to see the progress he had made there compared to what he showed us at home.’ 

 

Papyrus immediately questioned both the mention of their father, and he being referred to as something other than Boss. He guessed with the age of the photograph and the book that nothing of the sort would have started yet, but that got him thinking again… Since when has Sans started calling him boss?

 

After a moment of thought on the subject, he tore himself away from the thought to move his focus onto the book before him. So he flipped to the next page. It held no photograph, but instead held more events of the following day. The next two pages, consisting of a grand total of 8 or so entries, that were much the same. The next page was different. It held a peaceful picture of the skeleton brothers looking to the fake stars of Waterfall. It was captioned ‘Stargazing at Waterfall’. But the description that lay beneath took up the next page as well. 

 

It began with describing their morning, from breakfast until the time where the photo was taken. Apparently their dad had the day off, and was taking them on an exploration of Waterfall. All was well until the skeleton brothers had been jumped by a gang of monsters, while their father was purchasing something from Gerson. There was even an extremely detailed writing on the exact events of the fight. 

 

‘When Dad said he was going to get something from Gerson, he left us alone. So we went to go and play by some echo flowers. Everything was fine until some monster stole Papyrus’ scarf. I think he was some Aaron bully that was after some fun bullying kids. We tried to convince him to give it back, but he wouldn’t give it to us, not even for some extra gold I had on me. Not much later after that, some other monsters joined him, taunting us. They all wanted to fight, but Dad always told us to stay out of fights, even though we live in a cruel world. So I went to go get Dad, but before I could, one of them struck out at Papyrus! He had a nasty cut on his skull from it, and they were all laughing at him. It made me so angry, I couldn't control it! Next thing I knew, I had summoned up a huge magical attack, and I shot it at them. They all dusted, except the Aaron. He had hidden behind his friends while they took the brunt of the attack. He handed over the scarf without any fuss when I asked. When I looked back at Papyrus though, he looked both scared, happy, and confused at the same time. I handed his scarf back to him and started to comfort him when Dad came out of nowhere. He said he heard an explosion and wanted to know if we were ok. When he saw what happened to Papyrus, he was very concerned, but then he got angry. He almost never gets angry around me and Papyrus, but when he does, it's usually pretty scary. He at first thought I did it, but when I explained what happened, and he saw all the dust, he stopped for a moment. He walked over to the Aaron that hadn't moved since I had attacked. He silently walked over to him, and then told him in the scariest tone I had ever heard that if he were ever to mess with us again, he would personally hunt him down and kill him. The same went for the families of the other dead monsters that had attacked us. He healed Papyrus quickly, then we all went home. After dinner, Papyrus asked if he could sleep with me. I said yes, but I hope that today won't affect him too badly. I just hope I didn't scare him…’

 

Needless to say, that was a lot to take in for Papyrus. The ideas that (well for one he had a father that he couldn't remember) the underground only had some hooligans, the fact that he and Sans used to be that close, and the possibility that his brother could have some extremely powerful attacks. Could Sans have fought him and won? If he had had a chance, why didn't he ever fight back against Papyrus or stand up for himself? His mind kept taunting him again with the different thoughts and questions about his brother as he flipped through the pages. 

 

The next general section of the book was lacking in pictures of any kind. Apparently this is the point where their father had ‘disappeared’, leaving the young skeletons to fend for themselves. Of the few he read, he had gathered enough information to see that they were scavenging at Waterfall, begging and sometimes fighting for scraps of food that would always leave the older brother to go hungry, since he would always feed Papyrus first. Sans must have really cared about him…

 

After that was when the brothers relationship took a turn for the worse. The scattered entries showed now they were living in their current house in Snowdin, and they also showed how Papyrus would continuously treat his older brother worse and worse. After one point, the entries became few and far between, possibly due to Papyrus’ treatment. There was one page, dated around the time of Sans’ first really severe beating, that he obviously started to question if Papyrus cared for him at all. By what Papyrus read, the conclusion by Sans was that Papyrus couldn't care for someone as worthless as him. 

 

Papyrus could see obvious bits of self hatred in some spots, but some other pages were entirely devoted to it, just angered scribbles of how Sans hated himself, and not his brother. It appeared that no matter how much Papyrus had hurt him, Sans would always forgive him. 

 

The guilt was too unbearable for Papyrus after reading excerpts from the book. Holding back some tears that pooled at his sockets, he stood back up, and walked into his room. He placed the book on his desk and sat down on his bed. The dog from earlier looked in the doorway, now with a concerned expression. But if it had felt the need to comfort Papyrus, it decided not to, possibly due to almost being dusted by him a billion times earlier. Instead, it closed Papyrus’ door, leaving him alone to think about everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp, I write this at like 2 in the morning last night if that explains anything. But as for the next update, it's mostly written, but I might not update until after the holidays. Speaking of which, HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO EVERYONE!!! Have this chapter!  
> Bye!


	7. Baking Lesson!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I basically turn my own experience of baking a butterscotch cinnamon pie into a chapter. Except I had to clean everything... Sans and Toriel also take a walk in the Ruins and meet all its inhabitants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MERRY CHRITSMAS EVE!!!!!!!!  
> HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!!
> 
> I hope everyone has a great whatever you are celebrating this year!  
> Have a chapter! No have two chapters actually! The next one will be up a few minutes after this one. Thank you all for the nice comments, they really help keep me writing the story. 
> 
> ENJOY!!!!!!!

When Toriel had suggested they bake a pie together, Sans had no idea what to expect, other than the simplicity of taking two things, putting them in a bowl, and mixing them together. He was not expecting this. The pie required that butter be browned, cream be boiled, contents to be heated, pie crust to be baked, and other contents measured and mixed all at the same time. Sans couldn't even reach the oven, much less monitor four different things having to do with the oven at once. 

 

Toriel soon saw that problem, and moved to fix it. They agreed that she would work the oven and stove while Sans worked on measuring and mixing everything else. With that problem fixed, they moved to actually baking the pie. 

 

It didn't take Sans long to mix everything needed for the pie crust since it was mostly butter, sugar, and small amounts of flour. It was quickly placed in the oven to bake while the actual pie was prepared. Toriel acted quickly and efficiently, probably due to her overwhelming knowledge and experience doing this, and it intimidated Sans in some way. Still, he continued on. He had measured everything but the cinnamon, but when he proceeded to do so, he tripped over his own foot, which sent both he and the open container of cinnamon to the ground. 

 

The cinnamon scattered out onto the floor in front of where Sans landed. Toriel whipped around to see the spectacle of her temporary roommate lying on the floor with cinnamon spread out on the patch of ground towards his front side. Thankfully no cinnamon had gotten on his clothes so she wouldn't have to wash them again. Or at least not that she could see… 

 

“Sans? Are you alright?” She asked him, her tone slightly playful. Sans was nervous for a second, before he remembered this was Toriel, his friend. Not his boss. She wouldn't punish him or hurt him. “Y-yeah, I'm fine,” he answered. She smiled and giggled some before reaching out to help him up. He hesitated slightly before reaching out to her as well, gripping her paw tightly. 

 

The cinnamon in the kitchen had spread out on the floor, and for the time being was swept up as best as possible by Toriel. Enough cinnamon had stayed in the container to meet the needs of the recipe, despite most of it having been spilled. Some of the contents on the stove had become slightly overheated, so Toriel turned off the stove and took out the pie crust. It was a little darker brown than the ones before had been, but it was still edible. 

 

It didn't take long for the other contents to be mixed in with the cinnamon, and the contents on the stove sorted out. Once half of the stove mixture was in the other mixing bowl, it went pretty smoothly, other than a splash of bubbling cream almost hitting Sans’ bare hand. After that he had enough sense to place it on a flat surface while he stirred. After mixing everything together, they poured the custard like mixture into the pie crust and set it in the oven. 

 

The warm remnants left in the bowl tasted like a type of custard, and the two monsters ended up scraping the bowl clean of anything left in it. By that time, the pie had finished baking, and could be set out to cool before having to put it in the fridge. So, without anything else to do, Toriel figured she would teach Sans to clean some, a skill that he would need if he decided to stay. 

 

Since he was still too short to reach the sink, she got a stool from the room that was ‘under renovations’, which was basically just a storage room for her extra materials she had little use of, such as the stool. Standing on it he could easily work in the sink. He actually worked very quickly on the dishes, washing them with some recognizable level of skill and expertise. When asked, he explained that his father used to make him do the dishes since he was at work most of the day. He also mentioned his brother not allowing him to help due to ‘the high probability he would break some important dish or miss a spot’. 

 

She was still trying to be careful of his still slightly healing injuries, so she took it upon herself to clean the floors. So Sans worked on the dishes while Toriel worked on mopping up the mess of cinnamon that sweeping had not fully cleared. Between the two of them, cleaning the mess that preparing the pie had left did not take very long at all, so they decided to take a walk around the Ruins to kill some time. 

 

The Ruins seemed large to Sans at first, but after he started to complete the puzzles, he practically memorized the layout of the place. None of the traps had been set off yet, and Toriel actually sought his help if taking them down when he got better, if he decided to stay. She didn't want any of the inhabitants of the Ruins or even a human child, the target of the traps, to be hurt. By the monsters that they met in the Ruins, it seemed as if the law of ‘kill or be killed’ had never been put in place. All of the froggits were extremely kind to him, reaching out to him, even as a complete stranger, with kindness he had never thought could have ever existed in the underground. 

 

The vegetoids all offered him something to eat, to which he politely refused, saying that he was saving room for the pie that was baking. The whinsuns were shy, but still manages to smile and wave at him, still a very welcome reaction. The moldsmols probably didn't understand anything anyone said, but still wiggled at them. Toriel seemed to take it as a good sign at least, so that was counted as a friendly encounter. The migosps all wanted to dance, but due to his injuries and both their lack of dancing ability, they declined. So the monsters danced for them. The training dummy just sat there, but overall, it was the nicest place Sans had ever seen. 

 

By the time they reached the end of the Ruins, it had been more than an hour with talking to everyone. Since they saw no humans in sight over the buttercups, they headed back to the house. With no distractions from the other inhabitants now and having solved all the puzzles on their walk to the end, it was easy to go past them and reset them. 

 

Upon arriving at the house, the pie had almost set in the fridge. So, instead of baking or cleaning, Toriel figured she would ask what Sans knew of cooking. “Well, it's been a long time since I actually like cooked cooked, but I can still do basic things like make a sandwich. Had to learn at a pretty young age since dad was hardly around to cook for us, so the duty fell to me. It didn't change after he, urm, disappeared…” Sans face stared off into space for a moment, caught up in the past, before Toriel spoke again, waking him from his trance. “Sandwiches it is then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *goes to post next chapter
> 
> Oh yeah, if anyone also uses or like watt pad better, I literally (figured out the password to my account) posted this there too, if anyone just wants to know. 
> 
> Also please comment below your thoughts and feelings about this, it really helps me grow as a writer to see the reactions of people who are not my family or close friends. 
> 
> *resumes trying to post next chapter


	8. Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans has a nightmare and Toriel struggles with what to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was like the second chapter I wrote of this ever... For what reason I don't know, but still. Also the '...' Symbolize a time skip (not by much though) in this chapter. 
> 
> As always, Enjoy!!!!!

After preparing and eating their sandwiches at the small makeshift dining table, they were excited but at the same time cautious to try the pie. Surprisingly the pie they had made had turned out to be edible, even pretty good, and after they ate, they were both tired so they went their separate ways to their rooms. They both fell asleep quickly and peacefully, and they both slept soundly in their respective rooms, until Toriel was awoken by soft sobs. 

 

She sleepily sat up in her bed, wondering where the sound could be coming from. When the sobs seemed to increase in volume, she remembered her emotionally and physically damaged roommate in the next room over. He must be upset for whatever reason. Deciding on helping him, she slowly stood up and walked to his room. 

 

When she arrived at his door, she paused. Maybe I should ask if he wants help, he may not after all… she thought to herself. So Toriel drew in a breath and knocked gently on the door. “Sans? Are you alright?” No response other than the skeleton’s sobs. “Could I come in?” She asked cautiously. Like her previous questions, nothing other than the sobs penetrated the silence. 

 

After weighing her options, Toriel decided that entering would be the best course of action. After all, she didn't want her friend to feel whatever it was that was causing him to cry like this. She sucked in another deep breath, and turned the door knob. As the door opened, she noticed that he was not sitting up as he cried, but was still laying down, and was tossing and turning to the point of thrashing around on the bed. She took a step towards the bed and found he was still asleep, suffering through some sort of nightmare memory. 

 

She finished the few steps it took her to get over to the bed and kneeled next to it. “Sans? It is alright, it is just a dream,” she tried to tell him. Upon hearing her voice however, he seemed to enter an even deeper state of panic, hyperventilating and moving to press himself against the wall. During his attack he woke up, which only worsened the effects on him now. 

 

His breathing quickened even more so than it had already, and Sans was now sitting up against the wall. She could see his red pupils like pinpricks in his wide sockets staring at her. “B-b-boss, i’m sorry, I-I d-d-didn’t mean t-to wake y-you up.” He quickly sputtered out, trying to appease her. She didn't process this at first, but when it hit her that Sans thought she was his boss, come to hurt him, she has many mixed feelings. She felt guilty for scaring him, and sorry that anything like this had ever happened to him. 

 

“No, Sans, I am not your boss. It is me, Toriel…” she said softly, trying to calm him. He didn't appear to be much calmer, so she tried again. “I am not going to hurt you, I promise…” She lifted a paw to place it on his shoulder in a comforting way, but stopped when Sans flinched harshly. He shakily lifted his hands over his head and looked downward towards the bed. She put her paw down. 

 

“Please Sans, it is just me,” she tried once more. Toriel took a step backwards, away from the bed. She held her hands outward to show that she wasn't planning to do anything to him. Some of the tension in Sans’ form released and he slowly calmed down. After he moved from the wall and his breathing slowed, His eyes locked onto her again. “T-t-Toriel?” He asked uncertainly. 

 

After a moment of silence, she cautiously responded with “yes…” After yet another silent minute, she asked him “are you okay Sans?” Even though he still looked shaken, he nodded slowly, his red eye lights holding their gaze on her. “... Do you need anything?” She asked again. “N-nah… Thanks T-Toriel…” 

 

The tall goat woman nodded towards him and turned to walk out the door. However, just before she walked out, she turned to him and spoke softly. “You can call me Tori, if you would like.” Then she walked out, closing the door, then her footsteps faded off in the direction of the kitchen. Sans blinked. Huh… Tori… I'll Have to remember that...

 

....................................................................................................................................................................

 

It had only been about half an hour when Sans walked into the living room. He found Toriel sitting in her chair, angrily staring at her paws. She didn't seem to notice when he walked in, not even blinking. “Um… Tori?” he asked. She snapped to attention, jerking upward and looked at him. Her expression quickly changed from anger to surprise, as Sans was not normally up this early and she had expected him to go back to sleep after his nightmare. 

 

“Oh, uh, good morning Sans,” she quickly responded. “I have not started breakfast yet. I did not expect you to be up so early…” He blinked again and rubbed the back of his head. “W-well, I couldn't sleep, so I-I decided to come out here… Anyway, Tori, I wanted to tell you that I made up m-my mind…” Toriel cocked her head some, and Sans looked off to the side. 

 

“I-I want to stay…” He said cautiously. Toriel smiled warmly. “I am glad you have decided. Would you like to help with breakfast?” She said standing up. Sans wanted to say no, but he really didn't think he could handle being alone for however long it took to make breakfast. He had already almost lost his mind sitting there thinking about his previous home after he had that nightmare…. And it was that coupled with the fact that he knew Papyrus wouldn’t miss him in the slightest that had really sealed the deal on his choice. Shaking himself from his thoughts, he nodded and followed his new roommate into the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After this chapter, we actually really get moving with the actual plot (yes there is a plot). It won't take long for things to heat up...
> 
> Anyways, until then, I hope that everyone has an amazing holiday season and gets everything they wish for. (I'm kinda scared myself because I forgot to make a list until a week ago, and most of tech stuff on it was Undertale merch from the Internet... So basically I have no idea what I'm getting, but I really don't care either! I just hope everyone likes what I got them...) well, anyways, you guys got two new chapters from me, so don't say I didn't get you anything!
> 
> Please comment down below everything you think about my writing, especially if you have something that will help me grow as a writer, or make me laugh really hard. 
> 
> Happy holidays!


	9. Freaking climax gonna happen soon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Climax build up!  
> Ready it yourself to see what happens lol.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *evil laughter  
> Yeah, this is what I have been planning since the beginning. Or mainly what happnes in the next chapter, but still. Oh yeah, I'm REALLY gonna need some help figuring out where to go after the next two or so chapters... I kinda ran out of ideas...   
> Anyway, ONE WITH THE CLIMAX LEAD UP!!  
> ENJOY!!!!

The following day, Papyrus got a call from Undyne, saying that she back found a new recruit for the empty post. However, since she felt that Papyrus hadn’t suffered enough, she decided to make him train the new recruit and make sure he did his job right. So Papyrus was meeting the recruit today, which frustrated him to no end.

 

Upon arriving the border between Snowdin and Waterfall to escort the new sentry from his home to his post for the first time, so that other monsters would not bother him due to Papyrus’ presence. Undyne was in her armor, and it made the captain of the Royal Guard look utterly more intimidating. The monster next to her didn't immediately look like Royal Guard material, what little he could see if the monster’s actual skin looking sort of scrawny and weak, but Undyne was the captain. 

 

“Like I told you earlier, dust this one and it's demotion,” she restated to Papyrus. “Just make sure he knows where to go and what to do. As well as not slacking off like Sans.” Papyrus grew tense upon hearing her mention his brother, his soul clenching slightly when he heard her call him a slacker, despite it being true. However, he kept his calm outward appearance, concealing his inner emotions. 

 

Undyne left shortly after, her stomping echoing off into Waterfall. Papyrus turned to the new recruit. He was shorter than he had anticipated, shoulders meeting the bottom of Papyrus’ armor, with a helmet concealing his head. Two rounded horns stuck out from the top, but Papyrus couldn't tell if they were his, or the helmets. Another set of horns, places where tusks would be, stuck out, but they were clearly part of the helmet. He wore a long dark coat, reaching to his feet, which was not buttoned up, allowing Papyrus to see some evidence of armor beneath. He wore large black boots, probably for the snow. The temperatures between Snowdin and Waterfall differed so greatly, he wondered where he had gotten the boots and cloak if not from Snowdin at an earlier time. It would have been hard to find anything of the sort in the other sections of the underground due to Waterfall having so much humidity and Hotland being so, well, hot that water evaporates within seconds. 

 

“The name’s Dulio, Dulio Mercer,” the monster said confidently, saluting Papyrus. “Ready to go sir?” He asked in an orotund tone. Papyrus nodded and turned to start walking, the other following on his heels. On the way, he saw monsters eying Dulio, but looking away when Papyrus was seen in front of him. To hold his own here in Snowdin, the new monster would probably have to pick through some fights first. The people of the town were often untrustworthy in general, and did not take kindly to strangers. Especially those trying to boss them around.

 

Although the station was all the way across the snowy area, they made good time there since Papyrus always walks quickly and with purpose, and Dulio was good at learning to keep pace without at least showing signs of struggling or growing tired. The station was still as Papyrus had left it before and it hadn't even seemed to have snowed on the station. The lieutenant of the Royal Guard gestured to it, telling him how this was his station, the times his shifts were, and how his only job for the time being was to sit at his station and watch for humans. 

 

Dulio seemed unchanged by the boring job, almost excitedly saluting to Papyrus and saying that he understood fully. “Also if you see any suspicious activities, tell me immediately after you get off your shift,” Papyrus said clearly. “Of course, sir!” Dulio responded, saluting again and moving to take his seat. “Like I am sure you heard Undyne say that if I find you slacking off, it will be my head.” He looked at the monster with a glare. “And if it is my head, then it will be yours next. Got it?” Dulio nodded. “Understood sir.” 

 

‘Maybe Undyne did make a decent choice,’ Papyrus thought to himself. ‘This kid does seem to have an unphasable state of being, good for high intensity situations. Like encountering a human.’ “You are dismissed to your station. You will stay at the Inn in town tonight. I am going to make my rounds, so do not let me catch you off task.” Papyrus spun as he said this, turning the direction of a deeper part of the forest, away from the direction of town. His true reason was that he had not yet looked there for Sans or even his dust, but his mind tried to tell him that he was just feeling like walking the other direction. He would have to watch himself around Dulio…

 

Walking into the forest, he at first saw nothing suspicious, before spotting some footprints that just appeared from nowhere, heading toward the bridge. They looked a few days old, but without anyone else here to bother them, and the close trees above to protect them from the snow, they must have been preserved to some degree. By which it seemed as if whoever’s footprints they were had not been having a good time, with the tracks messy and slightly dragged. They were even noticeably different depths, which seemed to imply that the maker of the prints had been limping. Sans has taken severe damage to his legs, and would probably have limped on one if out of sight from other monsters. But Papyrus did not know that for sure, since he had slammed the door on his brother after kicking him out, only allowing time for Sans to weakly lift his battered skull from the ground and look at his younger brother. 

 

The next thing he took notice of was the red on the wooden boards of the bridge that laid there. Bending down, he looked at the stains. It was dark and slightly crusted over, like several day old blood. One thing he knew from having beat his brother time and time again, was that he bled. Papyrus had never questioned how magic skeletons could bleed, but then again, before now he hadn't cared about his brother or his well being. And if he had cared, he did not realize it soon enough. Guilt stabbed at his soul, making him ever more desperate to find his brother. Hopefully alive. 

 

The trail of red grew, larger spots staining the snow after the end of the bridge. It even followed along with the footprints, never straying too far into one print to have been from some later encounter of who knows what. It was when Papyrus saw his brothers phone laying in the snow that he truly began to lose hope. He picked it up, shaking the frost from the device. Papyrus had told Sans to always have his phone with him and that was one thing that Sans was actually good about remembering. He had only ever left it somewhere once or twice as far as Papyrus knew. 

 

The bloody tracks continued in the snow, leading to a large purple door with the delta rune symbol painted on it. It looked very old and faded. The tracks led straight into the door and if Sans had in fact been the one to leave those tracks, then the only conclusion that made sense here was that he went opened the door and went inside, or was let in by another. Who that other could be, if there even was someone else, Papyrus had no idea. But he pushed on the door despite this. It opened slowly, leading into a dimly lit hallway. Feeling as though he had no other choice, no other chance of finding his brother, he prepared an attack, and began his walk into the unknown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *dies   
> Yep   
> Shits gonna hit the fan soon. Can't you tell?  
> On another note, I have a new story idea that is different than this one, messing around with (underfell still) Sans as the main character and Undyne and Alphys actually having pretty big parts while we see little to nothing of what Papyrus is doing. It will take me a while to write, but I have ideas for this and need to make it happen.   
> THANK YOU ALL FOR THE SUPPORT!!!!


	10. the shit hits the fan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus enters the Ruins to find his brother... But how will he react when he sees Sans with the former queen?   
> (Finally! I have been waiting for this moment since like October!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for late update! Real life came back to bite me in the face... By that I mean school stuff I forgot existed...  
> Anyway, ENJOY THE ANGST!!!

Following eating the meal they prepared together, the two monsters had spent the time after their meal taking a walk around the Ruins, and then returned to the living room to continue their conversation. The table had been pushed to the side as they spoke about whatever came to mind. It had been a pleasant conversation, and having nothing else they needed to do allowed it to continue on for a few hours, eventually ending up with the both of them peacefully asleep on Toriel’s chair. 

 

Toriel had awoken not much later to seeing Sans on her lap, in what seemed to be the beginnings of another nightmare. She felt bad for him and tried to calm him down. She hugged him softly, whispering to him words of encouragement, and that she was here, how she would protect him. That seemed to calm him down, so he continued to sleep with a newfound smile across his skull. Toriel grinned and was about to close her eyes, when a red bone shot out at her. 

 

Toriel blocked the attack with a fireball and looked for the attacker. She at first thought it had been Sans, trying to kill her after gaining her trust, but when she turned to him, he was floating in the air in front of her, being held up by magic that someone was using on his soul. After becoming fully aware, he started shaking badly and staring at the entrance to the living room towards the stairs that led to the exit of the Ruins. 

 

A tall skeleton in dark armor, who Toriel could only guess was Sans’ brother, stood in the doorway with another attack at the ready. He glared at them, switching from one monster to the other. It had only been a few seconds when Sans spoke, trying to appease his boss. “B-b-boss, I-I c-can explain,” he started, but was then stopped when Papyrus stared at him with a look of pure fury and dropped him into the other chair. The taller skeleton dropped his soul, and Sans started shaking much more violently and his pupils turned into tiny red pinpricks in his eye sockets. 

 

“Not. One. Word. More,” Papyrus said to him. Toriel had been watching the way they interacted, and knew that this was undoubtedly Sans’ abusive brother she now saw. He turned back to Toriel and spoke again, “Not from you either, whoever you are. You have held my brother hostage for far too long and I have come to take him back,” Papyrus said with authority. That struck a nerve in Toriel, causing her anger to fire up. (Get it? Because she has fire magic? Haha ha… Ok I'm just gonna…*shuffles away) 

 

“Hostage?!? Me holding him hostage!?!” Toriel shouted, standing from her seat. Papyrus seemed startled by her outburst and took a step back, only to regain his composure and step forward again. “Yes, or else he would have come crawling back to me as normal,” the taller skeleton replied calmly. Toriel glanced at Sans, who now had his eyes dropped to the ground and was shoving his shaking hands deep into his coat pockets, along with all the previous shaking still there in his form. 

 

“Sans,” Toriel said softly, putting together her outward appearance, “please go and take a very long walk in the Ruins… Last time I checked, one of the puzzles seemed to have a stuck button. Please go and take a look at it.” Sans turned to face her as she spoke, catching the second meaning of her words. Since this was pretty much his only chance for escape, he decided to take it. “Sans, don't you move a muscle,” Papyrus said as Sans started to get down from his chair. “Sans I swear-” he started to threaten, but was stopped by Toriel setting up walls of fire balls around him, leading to the exit of their home. 

 

Sans ran from the cozy house and into the Ruins to wait out the inevitable fight. He desperately hoped that Papyrus wouldn’t kill Toriel and vice versa, but he couldn't choose between his brother, or his protector. Now that he thought about it, he probably could have stopped them if he wasn't so shocked and afraid upon seeing his brother again. Ignoring his thoughts, he set off to find a place to wait out the fight. 

 

…

 

(Papyrus POV/side of the story from when he actually entered because it will have angst lol) 

 

The hallway had been long and dark in every place, and when the darkened grew to light he knew he must have almost reached the end. Silently, he approached the end of the hallway, coming to stop at some stairs that led upwards. After gathering his composure, he crept up the stairs, ready to face anyone or anything. Although he heard no sound, he was sure this must have been where his brother was hiding. But he had to ask himself, was he even hiding? Had he been captured and taken hostage by another monster, tortured, and forced to do who knows what? 

 

Despite his doubts, he kept walking, reaching the top of the stairs. He stopped for a moment upon hearing something. It was very soft, but he knew that it was a woman’s voice, not his brothers. He hesitated, but walked on and made sure not to step on any freely floorboards, or do something as stupid as to trip over his own feet. He moved to the spot between the wall and the doorway, readying his prepared attack. He had not overheard what she had said, and only assumed that it could not mean anything good. But her inflection sounded different, almost as if she were relaxed. No one was ever relaxed in Snowdin, because if you were, you were dust in an instant. Not even Papyrus could let his guard down, despite his position and titles. He was never relaxed, not on the job, while he was asleep, or even at home. Not even Sasn was relaxed at home...

 

Solidifying his composure, he stepped in the doorway and shot an attack at the unfamiliar monster who sat in the chair with his brother in her lap. He tried not to think of what she could have been doing to him and he picked him up by his soul, getting him out of the stranger’s arms and away from his own attacks. She blocked his attack and Sans jolted up upon his soul being grabbed. Papyrus flickered his gaze between the two monsters. Sans was staring at him with wide terror filled eyes, shaking horribly. It took most of his control not to either run over to Sans and beg for forgiveness, or just cringe externally at his response to seeing his brother for the first time in days. The other monster, at first glanced at Sans and then looked past him to Papyrus. 

 

“B-b-boss, I-I c-can explain,” Sans started to stutter out, but Papyrus cut him off. He didn't think he could handle having to speak with his brother right now. He put him in the other chair, not wanting to frighten him further. “Not. One. Word. More,” he said in a commanding tone, still masking his inner emotions. Upon seeing his brother only begin to shake worse and becoming undeniably more terror-stricken, he felt his soul clench and the heavy weight of his sins on his back. His attempt to not frighten his brother more ended horribly, just like his attempts to help him for all those years. “Not from you either, whoever you are. You have held my brother hostage for far too long and I have come to take him back,” Papyrus said with authority. That visibly struck a nerve in the new monster. 

 

“Hostage?!? Me holding him hostage!?!” The stranger shouted at him, surprising him and causing him to take a step backwards, before remembering that he needed to show her that he was the stronger monster here and stopped forward again. “Yes, or else he would have come crawling back to me as normal,” he said firmly. He at least thought Sans would have come back, despite being kicked out, right?

 

Sans’ pupils fell to the ground, and he shoved his shaky hands deep into his coat pockets. He felt slightly bad for saying it, but it was probably the truth. The other monster regained her cool, and turned to his brother. “Sans,” she said softly, “please go and take a very long walk in the Ruins… Last time I checked, one of the puzzles seemed to have a stuck button. Please go and take a look at it.” She turned to face Sans as he said this, looking at him with great concern. She seemed to genuinely care for Sans. He felt slightly disturbed upon realizing this, partially because it was practically a death wish for one monster to openly show concern and care for another, and two because well, it was all still so new to him that he found it hard to settle his own feelings about his brother, not to mention a total strangers. 

 

Sans nodded slightly and moved from his seat. The thought that the stranger could be using Sans like he had in the past, forced to do work and then beaten and yelled at for the smallest mistake, had not crossed his mind until now. Had he really made his brother so weak that he would succumb to the will of any other monster when he was not around? But as his brother reached the floor and began to walk across the room, he called out to him in fear of losing him again. 

 

“Sans, don't you move a muscle,” Papyrus said sternly. Sans flinched some at the tone, causing Papyrus to internally cringe some. “Sans I swear-” he started to threaten, but was stopped by the stranger setting up a wall of fire balls to protect Sans while he left the room. So if it was a fight she wanted, that is what she would get. 

 

…

 

As Sans walked out of the living room, Toriel smiled slightly. At least her friend would not be in danger of his brother or even herself during the events to follow. She could only guess she would have to fight his abusive brother, which would undoubtedly be a challenge. Papyrus had watched his brother leave, with a strange expression of anger and what might have been some type of concern. She could not imagine that he actually cared for his brother with all he had done to him, but she didn't know for sure. 

 

“So tell me,” she said, fire wall dissipating from where it was to block the room’s exits, “you are his brother, are you not?” 

 

Papyrus turned to face her. “Yes, and I have come to retrieve hi-”

 

“You lived with him, did you not?”

 

“Yes, but that is none of your busin-”

 

“YOU BEAT HIM, ABUSED HIM, CRUSHED HIS SPIRIT, AND BROKE HIS BONES SO MANY TIMES, AND TREATED HIM SO HORRIBLY HE STILL HAS NIGHTMARES ABOUT IT, DID. YOU. NOT?!?!?!!” 

 

Papyrus stood in shock, his surprise clear on his face. His eyes fell dejectedly to the ground for a second, before he rose them back up to meet her gaze. She had tears welling up in her eyes, and had fire balls ready to fly in her hands.

 

“I-I…” 

 

Toriel shook her head at him, cutting him off from responding further, lowering her head so the light cast a shadow over her eyes. “I understand…” She said, gathering her magic. With a war cry, she let lose her attacks at Papyrus. Her war cry had alerted him from his thoughts in time for him to counter her attacks. He was shocked by the strength in her attacks. He checked her; Ex Queen Toriel. Attack 80. Defense 80. Determined to protect her friend. 

 

Well he knew he was in for it now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have many plans for the next chapters, but little to nothing written and no time to write...  
> Anyways, happy (late) new year everyone!


	11. FITE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (As a recap) sans, Papyrus, and Toriel are finally put in the same place  
> *fighting ensues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I KNOW ITS SHORT FITE ME  
> (Sorry for the delay tho, I had so much school work, then my internet went out, and I had to fix the pool, so I've been busy)  
> Anyway, enjoy my sad attempt at a fight scene!

Papyrus fired up his magic again had no clue what to expect when it came to his opponent's defensive strategy, so when he moved to the offensive side, she shot down his attacks with fury and power behind the attacks, the bones disintegrating into little bits of dust. Normally he would have an enemy down to half their HP, but he hadn't been able to land a single hit on her… He guessed he should have expected as much from the Ex Queen. 

The goat woman laughed darkly, without any sense of actual humor in it. “When I had first heard Sans talk about you, he was so positive,” she began saying while continuing her attacks. “He always talked about how great you were, how strong you were, and how you never gave up.” She dodged his attacks and sent out more magical attacks. One fireball hit Papyrus in the arm, burning the bones. He grimaced slightly upon being hit, but it didn't take down much of his HP. 

“He never told me that you were like that to him,” she continued. Papyrus felt the slight stinging of guilt in his soul, sending out more bones to counteract Toriel’s attacks. However, none of his attacks had connected with his true target yet. “When I saw him for the first time, it was after you had beaten him days ago. He looked so… Tired. Hurt. So desperate.” She looked to the floor, allowing Papyrus a chance to send his attacks at her. 

One attack grazed the side of her face, and another tore through the opposite side of her dress. Her face twisted slightly upon the contact of the bone on her face. She put her paw up to the wound, a splotch of red turning some of her white fur to the color. “It seems as if you treat everyone else the same way as well,” she muttered, half snickering. They both shot forward their magic, most intercepting the others attacks, but some still hitting their target. Unfortunately (and fortunately) for Toriel, she was not used to pain since she had been in the kindly Ruins for so long, and Papyrus was, so while he was slightly more injured, he was still able to continue fighting better than she. 

“I just do not understand how you can stand to treat others that way, to treat your own brother that way…” Toriel said sadly. Papyrus felt more guilt piling onto his soul, hurting just as much as his injuries. She mumbled something to herself and the directed her attention back to attacking Papyrus with all of her strength. Magical hands whizzed by, trailing more flaming attacks towards the skeleton. He managed to get by most of the attacks, barely dodging the trailing fire. He knew that even he couldn’t win a fight if it continued in this way. 

When it came to his turn, he summoned back his bone sword and moved toward Toriel. He dashed at her with surprising speed due to his battered state, slashing out at her. She was surprised at the sudden close combat and barely dodged the swinging bone in time. He swung two more times, both missing, and following this he grabbed her soul with his magic and slammed her into her chair. She toppled backwards in it and looked at him, her face filled with anger and some surprise. Lifting her soul again, he slung her further back, this time going over her fallen chair and into the wall behind it. 

The wall cracked some where the brunt of Toriel’s impact with the wall had hit. She pulled herself into a sitting position and coughed. A little blood came down from her mouth as she coughed, and Papyrus stared triumphantly down at her. He finally had her right where he wanted her to be; at his mercy. Just as he approached her to deliver the killing blow she started to speak again. “I-if this is truly how you treat your brother… you do not deserve him,” she said between her coughs. 

She then shot out as many magical attacks as she could at once, slamming the lieutenant of the Royal Guard into the opposite wall, all the while landing multiple direct hits on him. It drained his hp down to less than ¼ of his max hp, but he was still determined to continue. He faked being closer to dusting than he was, limply sitting at the bottom of the wall. He made his motions look weary, and he opened his eyes slightly to look at his attacker. 

She had a slight look of guilt and fear on her face, as if she hadn't meant to hurt him. It confused him, but he guessed if she really was not corrupt like the rest of the unground she might have second thoughts about killing someone. She stood, and almost began to walk over to him, but he stopped her by rushing a ground attack at her and preventing her from coming any nearer. He leapt to his feet despite his injuries and summoned another attack that could kill her upon meeting it's target. She did the same, creating a stream of fire balls at the ready. Both monsters had their final attacks ready but neither of them let loose their magic for a moment. They started at each other with different expressions. Toriel had one of hatred, and Papyrus had one much the same, but coupled with determination and guilt that he couldn't help any longer but show. Her words kept echoing through his mind; ‘you don’t deserve him, you don't deserve him…’

“I know I don't,” he said in reply to her accusation. 

Both let their attacks loose upon these words, screeching out to kill the other. An explosion of dust erupted in the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhangers! MWAHAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH  
> *smiles maniacally  
> (Don't worry, the next chapter is in progress)  
> Thanks for reading, and don't forget to tell me how I did. If you look back and it's changed slightly, don't be surprised!
> 
> (Edit):  
> Woah... 100+ kudos?  
> I would be all like 'am I dreaming? Pinch me!' But I hear my entire family and my cat snoring, so I know this is real life.  
> THANK YOU ALL FOR THE SUPPORT  
> I never imagined it would get people to actually follow it and bookmark it, so thanks everyone! ;3
> 
> (another edit)  
> caught a grammar mistake and forgot to add a small detail that will be important later.


	12. *slaps cliffhanger in face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We discover the cause of the dust  
> And finish the fight...  
> Because cliffhangers suck...  
> (Sorry 'bout that)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp  
> Four days later the fight is finished  
> Anyway, take this *throws chapter at... Uhh... You readers... Or something...  
> ENJOY DESPITE ME NOT KNOWING WHAT WORDS TO PUT WHERE...  
> (Insert correctness here)

As the dust exploded outwards, a red light also emanated from the dust cloud. When the dusty air parted, they saw a sight that neither had expected to see; not the other’s dust, not the other monster staring back at them, but Sans in the middle, with two Gaster Blasters at each side. One was scorched, but both were cracked and dripping with dust. 

His left eye socket was flaming red, and he looked both serious and afraid at the same time. “P-please don't do this,” he said to both of them. “I can't stand to see people that I c-care about trying to kill each other!” He almost shouted at them. 

Toriel looked kinda spooked, as if she had not seen this part of her friend before now. Papyrus was surprised at the fact that Sans had saved him, stuck up to him to a degree and now was telling him to his face that he cared about him. A short silence followed, no one making any moves to do anything. A bead of sweat appeared on his skull, staying there as he let his damaged Blasters disappear into nothing. 

“I…” Toriel began to say, “I am sorry Sans. I did not mean to upset you like this…” She finished looking down at the floor with her paws linked together. “I just wanted to protect you…” Sans flinched slightly at the words. Sure his boss was cruel and didn't care about him, but that didn't mean he needed to be protected from him. Right? 

Papyrus cleared his throat, and then followed it up by saying “Sans, shouldn't we be going home?” He spoke almost calmly, not so angry that it sounded calm, but just normal calm like the kind of tones Sans had heard Toriel use. Papyrus was even seeming to be non threatening to the both of them at the moment. It confused Sans some, and slightly frightened him since this was not what he was used to from his boss. 

Toriel broke the silence that followed Papyrus’ previously unanswered question. “Well, you see, Sans was thinking he could stay here. With me,” she said slightly nervously, but with a matter a fact tone. The taller skeleton flickered his gaze between the two monsters before asking back to her “and why would he do that?” 

Toriel grasped her paws together, and both the skeletons looked to her now as she prepared to speak. “So he could be safe. He is protected here so there is no reason to worry about him. He would be perfectly fine here,” she said, the nervous tone still present in her voice. “He wouldn't even have to worry about his, um, lack of HP.” There was obviously more she meant by this, and the subtext of ‘so he could be protected from you’ was painfully clear to all three of them. 

But Papyrus took it as a challenge. “So you think I don't do a good enough job of protecting him now do you?” He accused. She glared at him, “well that is not what I was implying but if you wish to take it that way then yes. He still was constantly being hurt out there,” she almost shouted. It again was very clear that she was implying that Papyrus did not protect his brother. Not from other monsters or himself. 

“I will not stand here and take this shit from you!” He retaliated, gathering up his magic again. Although it strained him slightly to do so since his magic reserves were so low from battling earlier. Another bone appeared in his hand and Sans turned towards him, leaning back towards Toriel as if to protect her. However, she was doing the same as the taller skeleton, gathering what little magic she had left. 

“And I will not have you attack your brother AGAIN in my own home!” Toriel roared back at him. She then sent her magical attacks over Sans and at Papyrus. “No!” Sans screamed as he jumped in front of his brother. Papyrus looked downward and saw his brother leaping in front of the flaming attacks and panic raced through his mind. He had come so far for his brother, he couldn't lose him now!

The fire balls landed directly on the smaller skeleton. Although Toriel had held back her attack upon realizing Sans was going to be hit, he still was hit either way. His HP dropped quickly, but it did not drop all the way. He still had the amount he was supposed to have; one. His HP had apparently risen within the past few days, under the Toriel's kindness, or he would be dead where he stood, hunched over his brother, protecting him from what would have killed him if the shorter of the two He still looked shocked though. Papyrus looked much the same. Toriel sent out a single attack above even Papyrus’ head, which he still ducked out of the way of just to be sure. He stood back up to stay something, but the attack had hit it's target; just behind Papyrus’ head, on the bookshelf. A heavy, signed book fell on his head, effectively knocking him out. 

Sans caught his brother as best he could as the bigger skeleton fell to the ground. “Tori, what the hell?” He said as he pulled his brother in closer. “Sorry,” she exclaimed, “I was afraid that we would fight again. I, no, we both could not have last much longer in the state we are in, and I had no hope of getting him to calm down on his own.” Her words were reasonable and Sans could understand her reasons, but that didn't stop him from being agitated. 

They were silent for another moment before Sans said, “well we sure can't send him back out there… Not like this anyway.” Toriel started to cross the room to Sans, opening her mouth to protest, but Sans cut her off. “He may have been horrible to me and everyone else he knew, but he's still my brother.” She stopped next to the skeletons with a skeptical look on her face. “Just for one night, please?” He asked, looking to her with a face of desperation. 

Toriel weighed her options for a moment. On one hand she could have Sans’ abusive brother stay the night and probably have him wake up super pissed at her for knocking him out, followed by another fight of some sort. She could also say no and just dump him by the Ruins door, but she knew then Sans would end up taking home and probably staying with him until he was better, which would turn into forever due to Papyrus not letting him leave. 

She chose what she thought was the best option. “He can stay with us until he is well again, but if he misbehaves in any way I will ask him to leave or be forced to kick him out of the Ruins.” The smile she received from Sans told her that she chose correctly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's that... I guess...  
> I have already started the next chapter, and would still love some imput from anyone...  
> SHOUT OUT TO THE GUEST UNDER THE NAME OF RANDOM PERSON  
> (Otherwise Sans might not have lived through that second near death experience)  
> But just as random fact here, I reread my first fic... And saw it needed work...  
> So I decided I would work on it after I finish(?) this. (I don't even know like what to do after the next two chapters lol)  
> So I would love some ideas of what to put in here, and what to write next.  
> Have a good... Until I post next...
> 
> Haha...
> 
> (More random stuff, I brought my math and Spanish grades up, so studying payed off!)


	13. How to keep the audience (and the characters) in the dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The room is really dark!   
> Sans flips backward over a chair because he has issues with his bro.  
> Toriel makes pie and gives confusing facial expressions in the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *begins to write chapter  
> *gets better idea and trashes chapter  
> *goes to proofread  
> *first sentence: Papyrus woke to a bright light overhead  
> *the chapter is supposed to be set in complete darkness  
> *flips table  
> *fixes all the stuff that involves needing to be able to see because most of the chapter takes place with the lights off
> 
> *exhale  
> wow, proofreading is annoying, yet hilarious when you make a really stupid mistake.   
> Enjoy this please, it was a really annoying chapter to write, so i hope someone else can enjoy it for me!  
> Like i said, ENJOY!!!!

Papyrus woke to darkness. He narrowed his eye sockets and tried to adjust them to the low light, but it was too dark to make anything out. Despite the lack of light, he fully opened his eye sockets. Moving away from trying to see his environment, he tried to feel it instead. He could feel he was laying on his back on a bed. He felt stiff and warm, which he figured was caused by some sort of quilt laying on him. 

He looked to the side where he saw two red eye lights looking at him. It took him no time to realize this was his brother, but It took him a minute or so to remember finding his brother, after days of searching, in someone else’s arms, fighting the ex-queen of the underground to get his brother back, and his brother saving his life twice and her’s once. He also vaguely remembered the last attack Toriel sent out, knocking the book on his head and coupled with his low magic reserves and low HP at the time, knocking him unconscious. 

His brother's voice brought him back from his thoughts. “B-boss? A-are you awake?” He asked him quietly. The light in the room was too dim for Papyrus to see if Sans was sitting or standing, or even his figure other than his small eye lights. He almost nodded his response, but when he took another second to think about how dark the room was, he spoke aloud instead. 

“Yes,” he responded, his voice sounding raspy and weak. How long has he been out? “Oh thank goodness,” His brother said, almost quieter than a whisper, but still loud enough for Papyrus to make it out in the otherwise dead silence of the room. Papyrus was sure his brother didn't mean for him to hear it, and he gave no signs showing that he had heard. 

Papyrus started to move into a sitting position, but upon the shorter skeleton seeing his brother’s eye lights begin to move upward, reached out and grabbed his arm, effectively stopping him. Papyrus whipped around to face him, and he flinched and backed off. “S-sorry B-boss, but t-try not t-to move very much, It’ll h-hurt l-like hell.” Papyrus rolled his eye lights, knowing full well his brother could see it.

Ignoring his brother’s warning, he continued to push himself up… Only to have a shock of pain go through his body. “Dammit,” he swore. Sans hadn’t lied, and he now wished he hadn’t tried that. Speaking of Sans, Papyrus’ sudden anger caught him off guard, causing him to yelp and fell backward out of his seat. Papyrus could only tell due to his eye lights moving around. 

They looked at each other for a second, the older brother still frozen to the ground before he got the courage to stand up and turn on the light. He hoped his boss wouldn't be mad at him, despite his warning to Papyrus not to move in the first place. It was difficult for him to find his way to the light even though it was literally right next to where the source of the small amount of light in the entire room was. 

Once he found the switch, he wasted no time flipping on the lights. The sudden brightness made both the skeletons squint their eye sockets against the harsh light. It was the first time in days they had seen light to such degree, for both of them. Sans made his way back over to the bed, and it was much simpler this time since he could actually see. He grabbed the chair he had been sitting in, until he had flipped backward out of it, and stood it upright once more. 

“A-are you o-okay Boss?” He asked cautiously. Papyrus looked at him with an expression that practically screamed ‘what the fuck do you think?’. Sans shrunk back some and his gaze dropped to the ground. “I-I'll go get y-you s-something to eat,” he said quickly. Sans then turned and almost ran out of the room to get his brother’s food. 

Papyrus wanted to roll his eyes again. Since when had his brother cooked? It took him a moment before he remembered the other inhabitant of the house possibly being the one to do so. He paused at that, remembering how the ex-queen had pretty much almost killed him. Twice. He knew that she would still be around and would most likely still want to kill him. 

He easily shrugged it off for now, since most other monsters wanted to kill him anyways but never tried, he looked to see how bad some of his injuries that had been caused by the very monster who he was previously thinking of. He pulled back the covers to see that every place that ached was professionally bandaged. It looked like there was fresh gauze over the wounds too since there was no blood in sight. They hurt more when he moved around or touched them, but they probably weren't as bad as they could have been. 

It had only been about fifteen or so minutes before Sans carefully walked into the room, carrying a tray with a plate and several other things on it. Using his magic, he weakly levitated the chair into a different position, more as to serve as a table. Papyrus found that odd since his brother almost never used his magic and the fact it had seemed so strong before, when he had stopped his brother and his friend from killing each other. But now it seemed he was struggling with it. 

The older skeleton gently set the tray down on the makeshift table. It's contents were a plate of spaghetti, a glass of water, and some medicine. Papyrus eyed the tray suspiciously, thinking it poisoned or something like that. Sans looked at him and said, “Pa- Boss, it's not poisoned.” Sighing, he picked up the plate spaghetti and the fork. Papyrus figured that if Toriel had really wanted to kill him she would have thrown him out or done it while he slept. 

He lifted the fork to his jaw and took a bite. It was actually pretty good. Apparently, it showed in his expression since Sans asked him “d-do you like it, Boss?” Papyrus couldn't find it in himself to say it was horrible, so he for once spoke his actual opinion. “It… It's pretty good actually. That goat sure can cook it quickly,” he said. Sans face brightened some. 

“A-actually Boss, I-I made that,” Sans said with a hint of happiness in his voice. “Tori taught me s-some about cooking, a-and she had already m-made the sauce. So all I had to d-do was to cook the noodles.” Woah. Papyrus found it difficult not to stare at his brother. He… Actually cooked something? Not only that but had been cooking in the past few days he had been in the Ruins. Had his brother gained some sense of responsibility while he was here? 

Deciding to shake it off for now, he continued to eat until the pasta was gone. Sans then took his plate and gestured toward the medicine that was on the tray, as well as the glass of water. Papyrus was still suspicious about the medicine, so he asked the smaller skeleton what it was for. Sans looked at him, some of the happiness from earlier gone now. “I-it's for pain. They d-don't taste the best and make you s-sorta sleepy, b-but they work f-for a while.” 

“Did it say all that on the packaging?” Papyrus asked sarcastically. Sans stood up and shook his head. “N-no, the past few d-days I've had to take s-some too.” Days? Papyrus let some of the confusion onto his face. “...how long exactly have I been out?” He asked slowly. Sans looked at him, his slight worry showing on his skull. “T-three days…” 

Papyrus’ eye sockets widened some. Had he been out for three days? Well, if Undyne had wanted him gone before, she would surely want him dead now. Although he figured it was a problem that he would have a while to think about since he was seemingly stuck in the Ruins until he could fight and walk. He would never be able to beat the captain in this condition anyway. 

Sighing slightly, he swallowed the pills with some of the water. He turned to look at Sans, but he was making his way out of the room with the dirtied dishes. After he exited the room, Papyrus could hear two muffled voices speaking, he figured it must have been his brother and Toriel. He couldn't tell what they were saying, but he could make out that Sans’ voice sounded happy. 

It was a few minutes before he felt the pills beginning to work. And like Sans had said, they defiantly induced sleep. He was out like a light within ten minutes after. 

…

Papyrus awoke to the sound of a door creaking open. He wanted to look and see who it was, so he carefully slightly cracked his eye sockets open, making sure to put out his eye lights. They would most likely alert whoever had opened the door to him being awake, which he was unsure he wanted that monster to know. 

He shifted his head so he had the best view of the room as a whole. He could see that it was Toriel who had opened the door since her figure was obvious in the light cast from the hallway. After all, she must've been the only one just by logic since he had previously been the only one in the room. He thought that until he realized that Sans was curled up in a ball against the wall nearest his head. He didn't have a single pillow or blanket and appeared to be resting peacefully. He was even smiling softly as he slept. 

Papyrus turned his focus back to Toriel, who had now fully entered the room. She was carrying two plates with her, and she set them down in the center of the room. There was what appeared to be two slices of pie on the plates, still steaming slightly from the oven. She then stood back up and glanced at Papyrus. He couldn't see her face well in the dim light, but he could tell she was looking at him with an expression that could have possibly been warmth, or maybe even some sort of empathy for him. He was almost sure the light was tricking his eye sockets since as far as he knew she despised him. 

Her gaze dropped to the bundle on the floor, and her jaw dropped some. She reached out a paw, then drew it back. The goat woman was looking at him with a certain sadness in her gaze. She then looked back up and left the room, turning in the opposite direction of the living room. Papyrus began to question her direction and open his eyes further but stopped when he heard her almost silent footsteps coming back toward the room. 

She had several larger items in her arms this time, and when she passed the plates on the floor and got closer to his head, he could see several of the items. She had a couch cushion, a big fluffy pillow, and a large blanket. She gently sat the items down next to where Sans was sleeping and turned to him next. She carefully reached downward and scooped him up in one arm. Papyrus almost gave himself away, his body tensing and anger beginning to fuel his magic into firing up his eye lights, but he remembered that she hadn't hurt him yet...

He began to release the tension in his form, silently thanking the blankets that hid his reaction. He looked back over at them and saw his brother lean into her touch. Toriel froze for a moment, then smiled. She moved the cushion beneath where he was previously sleeping and folded over the pillow, leaving it to be thicker than the cushion. She put that where his head would go. 

She then tried to put him down, and seceded despite the slight resistance by Sans holding onto her dress. She set him back down and put the blanket over his form. It was much bigger than he was, trailing off the makeshift bed and onto the floor around him. Sans smile widened, and he mumbled “...t-thanks…Boss…”. Toriel’s expression morphed into one of mixed shock and what appeared to be some form of realization. Papyrus’ soul ached some at hearing his brother's words. He probably would have never done something like that, yet Sans still thanked him, even though he wouldn’t do that, even though he didn’t, even while he was asleep. 

Toriel sighed softly and turned to walk out of the room. She made it to the doorway and paused, her paw on the doorknob, gazing back at the small skeleton on the makeshift bed. She glanced back at Papyrus for a moment and smiled. What she was thinking, Papyrus couldn't tell. She then pulled the door shut, leaving the room in darkness once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, could I still get some more ideas (if anyone has them and feels like letting me use them) if anyone would like to share them!! I kinda need a couple more situations I can put them all in, as to keep advancing the plot. (i wrote out more reasons here and then realised it would spoil it... if there is anything to spoil...)   
> Anyway, thank you all for the support!!!!!  
>  I just love reading everyone's comments and what people will write when they bookmark it. I laugh so hard at some of those...


	14. dim lights, awkward interactions, and sickness (for the author as well)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paps and Tori try not to hate each other and actually end up interacting as close to normal as it can get. Then plot begins!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (sorry for this being a little late!)  
> To be honest, the interaction between Papyrus and Toriel here is the most awkward thing I've ever written... Its just very difficult to have them interact, like at all. So sorry if you think its bad or inaccurate, but I finished the draft for this and then got sick right after, so my brain isn't working right and anyone that might look over this for me is at school.  
> Despite this, I hope you enjoy!

Papyrus awoke once more to darkness in the room. He sat up, painlessly this time and looked around. It was still very dark in there without the overhead light on, but Papyrus could now make out some of what was in the room. He could see the makeshift bed near his and the two slices of pie sitting in the middle of the room. He took a moment to test out any limitations he may have due to his wounds, but found none that would stop him from doing normal tasks. 

He slowly pulled his legs off the side of the bed and shakily stood up. He stretched, a few of his bones popping, before trying to take his first step in four days. Naturally, he was slightly unsteady, but he managed to make it to the door alright. Not wanting to wake his brother if he hadn't already, he slowly turned the door knob. Stepping out of the room, he noticed there was a lot more light out in the rest of the house. 

The living room lights were on, as well as the ones in both hallways and the kitchen. It took his eye sockets a moment to adjust before he closed the door and started to walk into the kitchen. He really didn't know why he was walking around, much less into the spot where Toriel could be, but he kept on anyway. He was almost surprised when he walked in and found no ex-Queen standing there. 

She hadn't been in the living room, so those places were empty for now. Not really knowing what he should do at the moment, he decided to check around the house. There wasn't anything interesting in the living room, and the most interesting thing in the kitchen was the pie that was missing three slices from it. Continuing back to his room, he saw that she was not in the half of the house he searched. Looking down the stairwell, he pondered whether she could be down there now, closing the door and locking it like she should have done in the first place. 

He wasn't about to go anywhere near the exit, so he instead looked to the other rooms of the house. She obviously wasn't in his room, so he went to peek in the next room over, but found it locked. He would have busted it down but he was unsure if he could give some excuse about the broken door later. He couldn't fight her while he was this weak and he knew it. Moving on, he went to look in the last room down the hallway. 

It was labelled ‘under renovations’, but she could very well be in there. He had summarised that the reason he was looking for her was so that he could ask for more pain medicine, even though he didn't actually need it. He figured that if he did find her and she did give him some that he would stash it away just in case. The ‘under renovations’ room was unlocked, so he opened the door. After opening it he thought that the sign should be changed to ‘messy storage room’. That was all it seemed to be, with pillows and blankets in some places, a few chairs with some other furniture strewn about the room. 

With a frustrated sigh, he closed the door and went back down the hallway. He was next to the stairs, almost to the living room when he heard footsteps coming toward him. He stopped for a moment and saw Toriel walking in the doorway. She was carrying an empty bag of monster candy in one paw. When she saw Papyrus, her face turned from contentment to surprise. 

She stopped in the doorway and paused for a moment before speaking. “...Good morning,” she said cautiously. They stared at each other for a moment. “I did not realise you were awake this early,” Toriel said, trying to break the heavy silence that hung between them. “It’s a habit,” he responded. 

Toriel clasped her paws together and started to walk past Papyrus. “Would you like something to eat?” She asked him. Following her into the living room, he nodded. “Anything you have is fine.” It was strange to him to be acting so… Non-threatening and calm. He only allowed himself to act like it because he knew that if he was hostile again he would get his ass kicked again and there was no real downside (other than appearing weak, but she was showing weakness too) to acting this way. Papyrus wanted to sit since walking around was still slightly difficult, but since there was nowhere to sit other than Toriel’s chair, which was slightly battered from their battle, he chose to lean against one wall near the doorway. 

Toriel entered the kitchen and put the empty monster candy bag in the trash can. She had gone out into the Ruins to think but brought the bag to restock the bowl so she wouldn't have to admit her reasoning. She had no clue how to behave around Sans’ brother, and for now resorted to being neutral. She didn't want to start another fight, especially since Sans got hurt by her hand last time. 

Some minutes later, she emerged with a plate and a glass in her hands. She turned back into the kitchen when she realised that the foldout table was still in the kitchen. She set the glass down on the counter and took the plate and table out to Papyrus. The glass came next, and after she placed it down on the table, she walked past him into the hallway to retrieve the chair from what was now the skeleton’s shared room. 

Since Sans had been using the chair while he was watching over his unconscious brother and she hadn't visited them other than when she dropped off the pie slices and made Sans his makeshift bed. She hadn't thought to take out the chair then, so it would probably still be at the foot of the bed. She really didn't want to go in there and wake Sans up, but she was slightly inclined to check on him anyway. She didn't even know if he would normally be allowed to sleep for this long at his home in Snowdin. 

Making up her mind, she slowly turned the door knob and walked inside. Sans was completely covered by his blanket, so much that she wouldn't be able to tell he was underneath if it weren't for the oddly Sans-shaped lump under the large blanket. Since she had no intentions of waking him, she only ventured into the room far enough to reach the back of the chair. Toriel pulled it out of it’s resting place and lifted it off the ground. 

She took it back into the living room, but she saw that Papyrus had begun to eat his meal while leaning on the wall. She offered him the chair, but he refused since he was almost finished with his meal. She shrugged it off and put it back where Sans had used it before. She gazed at the chairs as if they were telling her something important. Her chair, slightly scorched with a few smaller gashes in it, and the chair that was basically Sans’, old and worn, covered in scratches. 

Looking back at Papyrus, she broke the silence once more. “Do you think your brother is alright?” Papyrus raised an imaginary eyebrow. Why would she ask him that? Sans had seemed to be ok the day before, so why wouldn't he be now? He set his almost empty plate down on the rickety table as he gave his reply, “I don't see why he wouldn't be fine.” 

“I have a feeling…” She started, before looking towards the hallway. Knowing what she knew, she felt it was possible for Sans not to be ok, or have possibly even fallen down. She was concerned for her friend, so she made up her mind and decided to go check up on him. She folded her paws together and began walking back towards his room. Papyrus watched her questioningly but stayed silent as she exited. 

It didn't take her long to reach Sans’ room, and she hastily opened the door. Toriel didn't think she could bear to lose anyone else since she had already lost her children, the six other humans that fell, and lost her husband to what was basically insanity. It was truly taking a toll on her, especially after being alone for so long. Having Sans in her home made her realise that. After seeing that he had problems like he did, she felt the need to protect him and be there for him. Toriel knew it must have been a struggle to not just give up, and that his problems were taking their toll on him as well. 

She flipped on the lights and walked over to her friend, who was still on his makeshift bed, but he now didn't have the blankets completely covering his form. The goat woman reached out and tapped his shoulder lightly. Sans’ eye sockets slowly fluttered open and Toriel internally sighed with relief. Even if something was wrong, at least he hadn't fallen down. 

He squinted his eye sockets slightly as they adjusted to the light. However, as he rolled over to face her, she saw a red flush over his skull. When he saw Toriel overhead, Sans smiled at her. She bent over more to get a better look at him. “Are you alright Sans?” She asked with concern clear in her voice. Sans sat up and opened his mouth to respond, only to be struck with a coughing fit. Some blood came from his mouth, trickling down his jaw. “whelp, apparently n-not,” he said after his coughs had ceased. “Are you sick?” Toriel asked fearfully. Sans shrugged, “p-probably-.” He was cut off by a smaller bout of coughs. 

Toriel stood back upright, hands to her mouth. Since Asgore had been sick once, on top of it being a sickness that pretty much killed both of her children and sent the underground to the state it was in now, she didn't know if she could handle this. She had a hunch of what had caused the sickness, but that didn't help much. She also had no clue if taking care of a sick skeleton was any different than another species of monster. Toriel assumed that Papyrus probably wouldn't have taken care of his brother if he was ever sick, and she doubted that Sans would know anything about getting sickness due to lack of substantial food and sleep…

Pushing her thoughts to the side, she lifted Sans from the pile he was laying on and placed him on the bed. For a second he tried to move, but Toriel gently put her paws over him, as a gesture that said ‘stop’ without actually having to say it. “B-but it's Boss’ bed for n-now,” he said, coughing slightly between his stutters. Toriel would have rolled her eyes if she didn't know this is what he actually thought. “Well, I can always go get him a substitute. You will need the bed anyway, it will help you to get better faster.” 

He supposed she was right, so didn't bother risking more painful coughing to battle in an argument he would most likely lose anyhow. She pulled up the covers towards him and exited the room briefly. She quickly returned with a glass of water, some medicine, the fold out table, and two damp washcloths. She unfolded the table and set the glass on top of it. She handed him the pills, which he took without question, using the water to wash it down. She took one washcloth and put it on his forehead, and the other she used to wipe off the trickle of blood that the coughs had lead to. 

She set that on the table as well and left to go retrieve something else. She returned once more, but this time with a box of crackers. When Sans asked why, she told him that if he was hungry and didn't feel like yelling for her, that he could have something that is ‘easy on the stomach’ available right there. Sans yawned, which turned into more gentle coughs. “Oh, you should get some rest. I know you need it,” she said softly. He nodded and rolled over on his side. 

“I'll come to check on you every once in awhile, but do not hesitate to get me if you need me,” she said. She walked over to the door and turned out the lights. Just before she closed the door, she said, “I hope you feel better.” Then the door closed with a soft click. Sans was left to sleep, but his thoughts got the better of him before sleep come around. 

He thought of how much she must care for him if she were to do all of this. It reminded him of when he and Papyrus were little, and Papyrus had gotten sick one day. Sans had done everything in his power to make sure he got better, which ranged from using his healing magic to accidentally raising up his LV to get some of the medicine. Papyrus had been so happy back then, and he wished that things had stayed that way. 

Deciding not to be all depressed about it, his train of thought came to his almost blind trust in Toriel. Sure, he probably had way too much trust in her, but she had only shown him kindness. Helped him to heal, both physically and slightly mentally. And he knew that she would protect him from his brother again if need be. After the fight between her and Papyrus, while he was healing his brother, they discussed how another possible fight would be handled. Toriel told him that she would try to be kind to Papyrus, despite everything else that had happened. 

Sans could only hope that they would be okay. At least, nothing had happened yet. Well, if something did happen, he didn't know about it and would have to speak with both of them in the future. But for now, all was quiet. And with that thought, he let his eye sockets close as he drifted into a peaceful sleep. 

…

Toriel walked into the living room and fell back into her chair, her head in her paws. Papyrus raised an imaginary eyebrow at her. He paused for a moment, remembering that he could show some weakness here, but he wouldn't let himself get comfy with it. “Something wrong?” He asked, sarcasm lacing his gruff voice. Toriel was still for a moment before lifting her head up slightly and giving him the news. “Your brother is sick…” She said solemnly. A bit of concern jabbed at Papyrus’ soul, but he needed more information. “Can you cure it?” 

She fully lifted her head from her paws and looked him straight in the face. “I am not sure… It is not from a virus of any kind, but…” She trailed off, staring at the floor some. “...but what?” he asked. “He has not slept in three days, nor ate or drank. He wouldn't even let me heal him after my attack hit him…” Her words faded again. “I doubt he healed himself since he spent up most of his magic healing you.” Papyrus’ jaw dropped some. 

“He did nothing but sit at your side those few days…” Had his brother really done that? He was the one who wrapped his wounds up and cleaned them, as well as healed him? Papyrus didn't even know if healing was possible for Sans, especially since healing magic worked best with monsters that were close. Papyrus wouldn't say they were anywhere near close either, so he must have been right about Sans somehow still caring about him. 

After a moment of silence, Toriel spoke again. “On another note,” she began, “Can you help me with something?” She asked, her voice slightly shaky. She stood from her chair. “I need help getting you a different bed from that room, and I can't really lift it myself.” Papyrus began to question it, but assumed she would have moved his brother into the bed he had previously been using, so his question morphed into a protest. He really didn't want to reopen his wounds, especially now that Sans couldn't rewrap them, Papyrus probably couldn't reach all the spots, and he didn't want to have to be near Toriel as much as possible, much less be touched by her. “I do not expect you to assist me in lifting it by hand. You can use your magic, can you not?” And he had to admit, that was a valid point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Isn't it weird that I just wrote about Sans getting sick with like a high fever and coughing  
> And then I got sick(??)(well its whatever made me have the fever + winter drainage but still) with the exact same thing?  
> Life hates me like this, what can I say  
> But if anyone has any suggestions or comments please put them down below, I want to be able to improve this as much as possible!  
> Again, I wanna shout out to the guest under the name RandomPerson, they have provided a lot of great ideas for this fic!  
> (on another note, I think there will be like one-ish more chapters of filler before (what I really hope is) the true climax will occur!!!)  
> bye!!


	15. Short and (bitter?)sweet (as well as kinda late)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus has to watch over his brother for a while

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate school, always giving me so much freaking homework that I have to post late...  
> Sorry about that by the way!  
> Despite the lateness and shortness, ENJOY

Sans’ condition had not improved over the course of the next day. It had actually worsened by a noticeable amount, leaving Sans to suffering bouts of coughing between only small intervals of time. Both Toriel and Papyrus had grown increasingly worried, despite Papyrus still not letting it show, and Toriel began to stay and watch over Sans. They told jokes, Sans occasionally resorting to writing when his illness didn't allow him to talk without the consequence of painful coughing. 

His ‘throat’ area was sore, and despite him lacking a throat, magic has been known to give logic and physics and such the finger, so that's what's happening here too. (Yay for dumb explanations and reasons that are probably invalid! Er… Something…) the medicine that Toriel had given him helped to keep his fever in check, but when it kept increasing with the medicine they concluded it was still rising up. So basically there was no way that this was better than it had been previously. 

Toriel had just finished one of her visits, leaving Sans to get some rest, but it only worsening her fears of Sans falling down. She had given him some paper and multiple writing utensils since half of them probably didn't work from being aged and rarely used. Sans had written down everything the entire time, wanting to avoid coughing as much as possible. They had had a nice ‘conversation’ about what they both had done as younger monsters. Sans had written some accounts of working at the lab with his father, while Toriel tried to avoid talking about herself too much. (Cuz I got no inspiration lel)

While it had been pleasant, Toriel really hadn't gotten much sleep lately and knew that if she wasn't well herself that many things could go wrong. For instance, she could fall ill, leaving Papyrus to steal his brother away and leave her to die, or if he decided not to do that, the other path where Sans’ health would continue to decline and he end up being lost to the sickness, while Toriel being forced to sit back and watch since she couldn't care for even herself. Knowing Toriel, she wasn't one to do that, but she was pretty much just imagining grim outcomes to force herself not to risk the chance of them happening. 

Although she still disliked Papyrus and had pretty much zero trust in him, she made her way to the living room to tell him she was off to bed. He was sitting on the couch that they had retrieved from the storage room, and he had used it as his bed the previous night. The lieutenant of the Royal Guard was reading a cookbook he had retrieved from the shelf to pass the time. Opposite from his brother, his condition had improved immensely. His HP was already back to full and wounds were hardly sore anymore. 

“I am going to bed,” Toriel said wearily. Papyrus put down his book for a second to look at her. “Please check on your brother tonight. I fear he may…” She trailed off, gaze shifted to the ground. The tall skeleton put down the book, covers up on the couch as not to lose his spot or damage the pages by folding the corners. Toriel was slightly great full for that at least. She swore for a moment that there was a flash of emotion, but after she blinked it was gone. 

“I… I can watch him,” he said, uncertainty lacing his voice. Toriel’s tired expression brightened, then some darkness overtook. “But would you do it properly…?” She questioned, seeing him a glare. It took almost no time for Papyrus to catch on. “I'll make sure to do so,” he said. “He is my… Brother after all…” Toriel’s expression lightened up again. She then turned and started to walk down the hallway. 

But she turned around to tell Papyrus one last thing. “Please tell me if his condition worsens, and do not be afraid to wake me if you need to.” Then she turned around again, walked down the hall, and went into her room to get some much needed rest. Sighing, Papyrus grabbed the book and started to walk over to his brother’s room. He also took one of the sheets of paper Toriel had set out earlier just in case Sans needed more to write on and ripped a corner off to use as bookmark. 

After carefully placing it between the pages, he resumed his walk down the hall. The door was closed as he expected it to be. He slowly opened the door as not to disturb his brother if he was sleeping or enjoying the peace and quiet. The lamp in the corner was on, revealing his brother to be asleep on his bed. But as Papyrus stepped closer he could see that Sans was not having any pleasant dreams, but the opposite was happening. It must have been another one of his nightmares. 

Papyrus was used to dealing with these back at their house in Snowdin, but he had only awoken his brother to be degraded or beaten. They were a rare occurrence there, or at least the ones Papyrus knew of were. Sans had probably found a way to stay reasonably quiet as not to wake up his brother and be punished for doing so. But here it was different. If Sans had a nightmare here with only Toriel around, she wouldn’t have done any of that. Since things were different here, Papyrus could be different too. 

He slowly approached so he wouldn’t scare his brother awake like he would have at home. Papyrus was still unsure of how to be more kind, but he felt like he had been doing a pretty good job with not yelling or breaking something when he was angry. He knew he would have to get control over his emotions, but it was also known it would be a challenge. 

He inched closer still, seeing now that Sans was curled up, eye sockets clenched tightly closed with tears leaking out from them. Papyrus paused next to the bed. He could hear Sans mumbling softly. Most of it was unintelligible, but what he could make out made his soul sting. He could just barely hear whimpers and pleas of “b-boss… p-please… please stop… don’t h-hurt m-me… p-please…” 

He froze for a moment, unsure of what he should do, his mind only drawing a blank on his best option now. But when his brothers pleas became louder, tears coming faster, he knew he had to do something. But then Papyrus remembered he had healing magic too, not enough to actually heal, but it might be able to help here. So he quickly summoned up what little healing power he had and put his over his brother’s skull. 

Although it was barely enough magic to be seen, it still drifted down from Papyrus’ gloved hands and to Sans. It almost instantly took effect, ceasing Sans’ pained whimpers and pleas, slowing his tears, and changing his expression from fear to calm. Only after he had settled down did Papyrus stop. He was glad, though slightly surprised, that it worked, and he hoped that Sans wouldn't wake up for a while. He knew explaining why he was in here would be slightly difficult and he didn't want to lose his temper and become the villain he was back at home. 

…

Sans woke up calmly and slowly. For the first time in a long time he actually felt like he had gotten the amount of rest he had slept for. That was probably a first. He knew that he had some sort of dream or nightmare, but he couldn’t remember it. That was a first too, since he always remembered his nightmares, leaving them to haunt him during the day as well. 

Now he only felt calm, but when he tried to move he was met with aching bones. The light was actually on, so he could see his surroundings. What he didn't expect to see was his boss sitting in a chair next to the bed, holding his skull in his hand which was resting on the arm of the chair, facing the wall near the door. “B-boss?” He asked with disbelief. 

Papyrus turned to look at him. “No Sans, it's fucking Asgore,” he said sarcastically. Sans took a moment to push himself into a sitting position, moving his pillow against the back of the bed. “W-what are you doing h-here?” Sans asked again, which soon started another fit of coughing. Papyrus looked at him with an expression that could have been concern, but with him it was almost impossible to tell. When his brothers coughs became slightly softer Papyrus reached out to him, but Sans mistook it and flinched away. 

Papyrus drew his hand back and waited for Sans to stop. It didn't take much longer after that, but Sans decided to switch to writing instead. He wrote ‘sorry boss, this is giving me a bad time.’ When Papyrus read it, it reminded him of how this was technically his fault, and how his actions once again harmed his brother more than it had harmed him. ‘What are you doing here?’ Sans carefully wrote out. Papyrus almost rolled his eye lights, “watching over you, which I thought was obvious.” 

Sans’ eye light dropped down for a second, making Papyrus feel kinda bad about what he said, but he didn't know how to change. “Do you need anything?” Papyrus asked his brother. Sans grabbed the paper again, ‘Water please’ he wrote in response. Papyrus nodded, about to get up and retrieve some water from the kitchen, but just then Toriel knocked on the door. “Come in,” Papyrus said. That was one thing he was used to saying, especially when Undyne would come over. 

Toriel opened the door and smiled. “Good morning,” she said, “how are you two doing?” Papyrus shrugged while Sans started writing. When he finished, it said ‘Mornin’ Tori. Could be better.’ She walked up and took the paper when Sans handed it to her. “You poor thing,” she said, care lacing her tone. She would have reached over and hugged him if Papyrus wasn't sitting there. She didn't know how he would react to that and didn't plan on finding out. 

“Papyrus, would you like me to watch Sans for a while?” Papyrus hesitated, not wanting to leave his brother’s side, before remembering that Sans would probably rather have Toriel around than himself. So he let Toriel take over, but not before getting his brother the water he asked for. Only then did he leave his brother to speak, or in this case write, to Toriel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare yourselves  
> Prepare. Your. Selves.   
> *smiles evily   
> I CANT WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER


	16. Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Multiple things are broken... (Like this summary)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY INTERNATIONAL FANWORKS DAY!!!  
> (I didn't even know this existed until two minutes ago lol)  
> I figured I would post something for the occasion, sorry in advance for it being really short...   
> Anyway, as always, ENJOY!!!  
> (And if you have cried before in this series, grab your tissues!!)

The next night a Papyrus was watching over his brother again. He had slept practically all after Toriel had left initially, and frankly it was quite worrying to both of them. He had at least woken up when Toriel had come to check on him the day before, but now he was seemingly unresponsive. Sans’ fever had continued to climb and his overall health, which wasn't in the best shape to begin with, had plummeted since the previous day. 

Toriel was having a hard time handling it, her fears of her life before the Ruins coming back to haunt her. It still scarred her deeply, especially since now it seemed her fears were becoming a reality. Papyrus was still having trouble with his emotions, but it was worrying him too. It was almost incomprehensible to him, even the remote possibility that his brother might not wake up. When he was hurt he always got up, so part of him expected Sans to be able to get over this easily. 

But nothing could have prepared Papyrus for what was about to happen that night. 

He was watching Sans again, sitting by the bed and thinking on his actions like before, but this time he actually paid attention to his brother’s sleeping form, instead of staring at the wall in anger. There was no nightmare like the previous night, but this time it was the utter lack of movement that scarred Papyrus. It was almost as if he had… Fallen… 

He tried to shake the thought away, but it stayed, lingering in the back of his mind and bringing out some of his insecurities. Because with all of the thinking he was able to do, he realized that without Sans, he would be completely alone. No one else in the underground particularly liked him, Toriel certainly didn't, but it seemed that no matter how cruel he was, as that pushed away at some monsters in his life, it was never enough to drive Sans away. He always stuck by Papyrus’ side. And thinking that he might not be there at his side anymore was hard to comprehend. 

Papyrus felt like an idiot for not realizing his mistakes before now, for not realizing how much he hurt his brother, for not letting himself care in the slightest about his brother or anyone else in the world. Sometimes he silently wished that he could be able to have and use his emotions like Toriel does, always being kind, even when you have to be kind to someone you have only known as a cruel, heartless, creature that had harmed someone she cared about. He wanted to be able to express himself like he meant it, even if it was just for a day, just so he could make up with his brother and try to mend their bond. 

Papyrus turned to look at Sans again, noticing how he still hadn't moved since he had last looked. Slowly, he lifted his arm to his brother’s shoulder and gently shook him. There was no other movement from Sans. Hoping he was just in a deep sleep, he tried shaking him harder. Still no other movement. panic making it's way into Papyrus’ soul, he tried to gather his cool as he did the only other thing he could think of to see if Sans had fallen. 

He lightly selected the check option, leaving him with a screen that said ‘Sans the skeleton. 0.7/10 HP. Is trying to stay alive…’ Papyrus stared at it for a moment before it began to morph and change. It now said nothing but ‘Fallen’ in the center. Papyrus froze. Sans had fallen. That could only mean he…Papyrus couldn’t finish the thought as he felt many emotions start to attack him, ranging from anger, to guilt, to a horrible sadness that made his just want to fall apart. Which is exactly what he did next. 

Tears formed at the edges of his eye sockets, threatening to fall more and more by each second. He gripped the cover on the bed, and then finally broke. All these years of pent up emotion he didn't even know he had started to rush out. He reached over, scooping his brother up in his arms, and held him close. The tears started to come, dripping down his skull like rain. And Papyrus could only sob out his apologise to his fallen brother. 

“S-sans,” he began to choke out, “I-I'm so sorry. I-I n-ever meant for t-this to happen.” Papyrus spoke between his sobs, not noticing or caring how loud he was. “P-please,” he begged his fallen brother, “p-please come back. I n-need you, Sans!” Papyrus held his brother tighter as he continued to cry. 

A crack sounded in the room, causing Papyrus to look down and see his brother’s now cracked soul. His HP must have been dropping very fast. Another crack echoed throughout the room, causing Papyrus’ sobs in increase. “P-please… I… I love y-you brother…” With that, Sans’ damaged soul hovered over his body, and a large mark down the middle began to form. Papyrus hugged his brother tighter, knowing he couldn't do anything to stop this. 

It cracked down the middle. It split. But then it did something odd… Instead of breaking off into a million pieces like it should have, it sealed itself back together. Suddenly, Sans woke up. He blinked for a second. 

“B-boss?” He spoke so quietly it would have been impossible to hear him if the rest the room hadn't been that silent. Papyrus smiled, tears still leaving his sockets, and pulled Sans into a hug. He was tense at first, fearfully awaiting some sort of pain, before nothing came and he relaxed into his brother’s embrace. They stayed like that for a minute, until Toriel came bursting into the room, effectively scaring the crap out of both the skeletons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *smiles  
> *shuffles out of room  
> *runs away shouting "CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!!!"


	17. Forgiveness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> . . .   
>  oh just read it!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (what is with me and short chapters???? and the completely random updates??) meh... well, here ya go anyway!  
> ENJOY!!  
> (time jumps brought to you by: Hans Lippershey, the dude that invented the first telescope... because I need to remember his name... or something...)

(Back to a little before Sans fell)

Toriel stared at the ceiling as if it was an endless void. She had woken up not to long ago and couldn't get back to sleep, not with all her thoughts dashing around like they were. Her fears of Sans not waking were attacking her, keeping her from the peace of sleep. All was quiet too, with nothing to distract the ex-Queen from the whispering voices of her thoughts. 

She laid there for what felt like hours, but was probably only a few minutes until Toriel heard a sound of some short lived movement from somewhere else in the house. She began to sit up, but stopped when she heard someone speaking sadly. It was mixed with sobs. She couldn't make out anything the voice was saying and tried to be as still as possible as to hear better. 

When that didn't help, she fully sat up on the edge of the bed. Who could be the cause of the saddened sounds, or more importantly, why were they making them? Could Sans be having another nightmare? Or was Papyrus… She trailed off there, anger filling her soul. She knew she shouldn't have trusted him! 

Then a muffled crack sounded through the walls. Toriel’s eyes grew wide, and she looked to the door. Without a second thought, she shot up and ran out of her room and ran down the hall. She half tripped over the carpet and caught herself, costing her crucial seconds. Stopping at the door she tried to open it, but found it locked. She knew where the key to the room was, but if Sans’ soul was cracking, she had no time to lose. 

So she gathered up her strength and punched the door open, effectively breaking the lock and causing it to swing wide open on it's hinges. Toriel had prepared her magic, just in case it was necessary, but she found it was the opposite. She now saw before her two startled, hugging skeletons, both of whom were staring at her. She was shocked to find that Papyrus was in tears, which sent her thoughts flying many ways. 

Toriel stood there, slightly dumbfounded for a few seconds, before turning on her heels and walking back into her room. She didn't know what to think, and sat back down on her bed. Her reaction was strange and sort of out of character for her, but she had just froze up upon seeing them. She hadn't thought straight and still wasn't thinking straight now, but for now she just wanted a minute alone to process everything. 

Despite how little it seemed, it was so much for her to try and take in in the few seconds she had stood there. One minute she could hear sobbing and the cracking of a soul, and the next she found out that one, no one was dead from the possible soul cracking, and two that apparently Papyrus wasn't as much of a jerk as she thought he was. 

Some small part of her had felt sorry for him, having to live out there in the harsh world, but the majority just wanted to punch his skull in and make him realize that what he had done to his brother was wrong. The only thing that had stopped her was Sans. She knew that he cared about his brother, but it was still hard for her to understand how he could still care for Papyrus. 

Toriel had no clue what could have brought on the crying, but she figured she would ask him later. Did he finally come to his senses? Shaking her head, Toriel laid back down on her bed. When it all came down to it, she was happy to see that Sans was still ok, and that Papyrus had possibly come to a realization about what he had done. For now though, worrying and questioning things that she didn't have the answers to would have to wait. For now, she just wanted to rest again. 

…  
(Jump back to when Toriel left) 

Sans and Papyrus stared at each other, both with confused looks on their faces. Toriel’s sudden appearance and disappearance had shocked them both into silence. It was out of character for her to just leave wordlessly, but they had been so startled that no one had spoken a word. They stayed in silence for a minute before Sans looked up at his boss, who was still crying, and asked him “B-boss, why are y-you crying?” 

Papyrus was silent for a moment, his eye lights fading some as he thought over his options. He didn't think he was quite comfortable with telling his brother that he had nearly died yet, so he crossed that off his mental list. He a,so didn't think that Sans would be satisfied with some sort of bluff, like ‘you punched me in the face in your sleep’, and even if he was he would probably ask a follow up like ‘why are you holding me?’. And he didn't want to scare his brother by saying ‘I was gonna throw you on the ground’, or something like that. (When this is the first thing that comes to my head XD) They really left only one option for him, one he was hoping not to resort to; the truth. 

“Because I'm sorry… For everything,” he said solemnly. Sans gazed up at his brother, filled with shock and confusion about that showed on his small form. “I've been so cruel to you, yet you always stuck by my side. I treated you so horribly Sans…” He trailed off, more tears coming to his eye sockets. “I… I've been an awful brother… But I promise I won't ever do anything like that ever again.” Sans was tearing up now after hearing his boss’s distraught words. 

“I'll be a better brother to you… Just please, please forgive me,” Papyrus pleaded. “If you want me to, I will go… I'll leave this place and you can stay here with Toriel-” Sans interrupted his brother after he began to say this. “W-what? N-no, Boss, please don’t go!” He shouted at him. “I-I only would h-have stayed here since I t-thought you would b-be happier without me…” Sans looked off to the side dejectedly as he said this. 

Papyrus pulled Sans closer. “That's not true, Sans, you’re my brother, of course I care about you!” Sans stared up at his brother, eye sockets large with tears in them. They started to fall as Sans skull blossomed into one of his genuine smiles that Papyrus rarely got to see. Before the taller skeleton could blink, Sans threw his arms around his brother and locked him in an embrace. He was crying into his scarf, tears beginning to soak it. 

Papyrus froze for a second before returning his embrace. They sat there for a minute, Papyrus just letting his brother be, wondering if he was forgiven. He almost started to ask, but was cut off when Sans gave him the answer to his unspoken question. “Of course I c-can forgive you, Pa- Boss… because I n-never held it against you…” 

And knowing that, Papyrus gave a true smile. He knew it would take a lot to repair their relationship, but forgiveness was a start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :P   
> (oh my gosh I can't think of what to say here XD)  
> well, just thanks for all the support I've been getting from all of you! The comments make my day!  
> But I wrote this in like an hour, so don't hesitate to tell me if there are any mistakes.   
> Thanks everyone!!


	18. Help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paps realises he actually needs help.  
> (wow summaries lol)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IVE BEEN IN THIS FANDOM FOR A WHOLE YEAR!!!!!!1  
> WHOOOHOOOO  
> *throws chapter  
> HAVE A CHAPTER  
> and as always, ENJOY!!

Toriel rolled over, trying to deny that she needed to get up. She didn't have these mornings very often, but it was always for a reason. She couldn't think of anything that would have caused it despite it still being early. Her mind felt foggy, not really being able to think. The last time this had happened it had been with the previous child having left her, like all those before them…

She cracked her eyes open. If there hadn't been another human, what could it have been? Her eyes slowly opened the rest if the way as she remembered exactly what she had seen last night. Toriel sat up, thoughts and emotions from the previous night resurfacing. She yawned and stretched, trying to shake off all the sleepy feelings. 

Standing up in one last stretch, Toriel made her way to the door and walked down the hall. she noticed that Sans was not awake as she quietly crept down the hall. not wanting to disturb him, she slowed her movements as she approached and passed the door. After Toriel made it to the living room, she found that Papyrus was not in there. It was as if he had vanished from the house. This slightly concerned her knowing that she needed to speak with him about last night. 

Poking her head in the kitchen, the ex queen found it vacant and untouched since she had last seen it. Toriel turned and went back into the living room to sit down and read a book to try and calm herself, but she found that the one she wanted was missing from the shelf. She put her face in her hand. At this point, Toriel was pretty done with everything. 

She was confused about whatever happened last night, was still afraid it had been(or almost been) something horrible, she couldn't find out anything about it, Papyrus was currently gone, and she had misplaced her book, the one thing that might be able to allow her to de-stress since everything else was happening. Sighing, she started to go back to her room to look for her book there. 

She had only made it next to the stairs before Papyrus suddenly came bursting through the door. A few stray attacks shot through the open door, before Papyrus spun around and closed it, leaning back against the door to keep it closed. They were both wide eyed, but each for different reasons. The door jerked slightly as it was hit from the other side and voices could be heard, however they were muffled by Papyrus keeping the door closed. 

Toriel snapped out of being shocked for long enough to hurriedly walk over to the door and lock it multiple times. Papyrus stepped away from it, breathing heavily. He looked a little scuffed up, and when Toriel checked him she took notice of his HP having lowered slightly. “T...thanks…” He said, staring at the door. Toriel nodded, a silent way to say it was nothing. “What… Was that?” She asked cautiously. 

Papyrus’ eye lights darkened some and he looked downward. He really didn't want to talk about it, but he knew he would have to eventually. Still, he made an effort to dodge the question. “Nothing to be concerned about…” He said. Toriel glanced at him and decided that it would be better not to push it.

“Are you alright?” She asked again. He walked over into the living room. “I'm fine,” he stated flatly. Toriel almost rolled her eyes at him. It was obvious that he was injured, despite how little the damage seemed to be. “Here, allow me to heal you,” she said kindly, moving to walk next to him. 

Papyrus scoffed at her. “I said I am fine,” he sharply replied. Toriel didn't believe him, so she changed tactics. If how she had seen him last night was anything to go by, then she knew what to do next. “You would not want your brother to be worried about you, right?” Papyrus stopped entirely. “Lucky for you, he is not awake yet. I would not want him to be worried either, so please let me heal you so he does not find out about you ever being hurt.” 

Just like she hoped, it hit his one spot and he gave in to her plea. “F… Fine…” He said with an angry tone laced in his voice. Toriel smiled victoriously. (More like vicTORIously! Ok bye *runs away). It only took a minute for her to heal his wounds, partially since she was skilled at healing, despite the two monsters not particularly liking each other, and also due to the few injuries there were. It was only a small crack from another monster’s attack on his arm and a mark on his skull. So it wasn't bad at all. 

Toriel had healed him mostly because she didn't want Sans trying to heal his brother in his state, no matter how slight the injuries were. He needed to conserve his magic and not use it on something like this. Papyrus sat down in the extra chair when she was finished, lost in thought. Toriel pulled up her comfy chair as best she could. “So, Papyrus, do you mind telling me what happened?” 

Papyrus glanced up at her, before looking back at the ground. “...” He was silent for a moment. Toriel leaned back in her chair, knowing she had all the time in the world, or at least until Sans woke up. “I… I was in the rest of the Ruins,” Papyrus began, “I decided to go there so that I could work on my… My anger issues…” Toriel’s face shifted to slightly unmask her surprise. “Well, I wanted to see how I did with the other monsters there, but… They all said that I looked like how you and Sans described his brother to be. Exactly like how you both described him.”

“Thinking I was here to kill them, or seeking revenge for hurting you and Sans, they attacked me…” Toriel's expression morphed into one mixed with guilt and pity. She hadn't imagined that he would actually have any interest in going to the Ruins, so she figured it wouldn't matter if she spoke of him to the other monsters there. She had been wrong, and she felt bad for it. “They didn't really hit me but a couple times, and I didn't fight back knowing that it wouldn't help me to become more merciful… So I fled back here, and here we are…” 

Toriel looked at her paws sadly. “I am sorry that I had a part to play in this…” they sat in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes, both lost in thought. Both feeling guilty, Papyrus for all the sins he had committed, and Toriel for making this happen… Sort of, but being the kind monster she was she still felt bad. Papyrus sighed as he came to a conclusion of an internal battle with himself. 

“I didn't want to have to do this,” Papyrus began, “but it seems I have no other choice…” Toriel looked away from her paws and up at Papyrus, confusion working its way onto her face. “I hate to say it, but I need your help…” Toriel raised an eyebrow. “My help?” If he hadn't been serious the skeleton would have smirked at her. “Yes… I need your help, but don't do it for me; do it for Sans."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can you believe that this basically was almost chapter 13? then I trashed it and completely rewrote it to drag it out some more... which worked since it got us five more mcfreaking chapters.  
> If anyone has comments, suggestions or ideas, don't be afraid to post them below!  
> thanks for all the support guys!!!!  
> *phases trough ground into the undertrash can
> 
> EDIT: woah  
> holy crap woah!!! geez, one short of 200 kudos???!?!?!!? Thanks you guys! (geez, I really didn't expect anyone to like this trash, but whatever.) I'm so glad that you can all enjoy this fic, and I hope you stick around to its end! I can't thank you guys enough, but ima try... TAHNKSTHANKSTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKSTHANKYOUALLOHMYGOSHJUSTTHANKYOUALLSOMUCH!!!!!YOUALLHAVENOCLUE(probably)HOWMUCHTHISMEANSTOME!!  
> (also sorry about being bad on commenting back, I ushally am busy, but i love reading all your comments!!)


	19. (A/N) sorry in advance, not a chapter (yet)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FUCK MY LIFE

...  
I hate my life  
I hate PE  
I. HATE. MIKE!!!  
Yeah, long story short I sprained my hand three days ago and now it's getting worse... (And this took forever to type)  
So pretty much what I'm trying to say is I am sorry that I won't be able to update, because I won't be able to write.  
(But this will be replaced with a chapter when I am better)

Just thought you guys would like an explanation in advance... Yeah, sorry in advance XD

-ThatOneFangirlTho


	20. 'Polite' Breakfast Conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doors fall  
> Papyrus tries  
> (And fails)  
> Author is bad at diolouge  
> Toriel makes breakfeast  
> Decisions are left up to grabs for the readers to make

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *quickly posts chapter  
> well as a quick note, thank you all for being supportive and letting my hand have a chance to heal. I was honestly surprised to see how many comments I got just saying to get well!  
> Anyway, here's a chapter  
> And since I feel like it, all of YOU get to help decide what happens next!!!  
> So read it and find out what the heck you'd support!  
> But as always, ENJOY!!!

Sans’ eye sockets slowly flickered open. He immediately noticed that he felt much better than he had before now. His fever seemed to be almost gone and he no longer felt like coughing. He took it as a good sign, but couldn't really think of any reason behind his getting better. Perhaps he had finally won out over the sickness? Not really caring since he felt better, Sans shrugged it off and sat up. 

The door to his room was cracked, at a slight angle from the broken hinge, and no one was in there with him, leaving the chair next to the bed unoccupied. He looked at it for a moment, puzzled, but memories from last night hit him in waves. Waking up to his brother’s embrace, Toriel bursting through the door, Papyrus crying and apologizing for everything… Sans had felt slightly overwhelmed at the time, and the feeling still lingered in his subconscious. 

He smiled at the thought of mending his relationship with his brother. All he had really wanted for the past few years was for Papyrus to care for him again, but Sans hadn't believed that would happen. Now that it was becoming reality, it felt even more like the dream it once was. If it was a dream, he never wanted to wake up. 

His nonexistent stomach growled, tearing him from his thoughts and reminding him of how little he had eaten while he was sick. Carefully, Sans slid off the bed and onto unsteady feet. Gaining confidence as he walked to the door, he picked up his pace. He swung the door open faster than he should have, making the remaining hinge start to come off it. The door leaned into the room oven Sans’ head and he regretted opening the door so quickly. 

Without really thinking, he held out his hand and used his blue magic on the door as it fell. His magic was still weak and shaky, but it was enough to hold up the door from falling as the hinge broke. Sans could feel his magic reserves draining quickly, not that they were very full to begin with, and he propped the door against the wall next to the doorway. He regarded it for a moment more before continuing on his way. 

As he walked down the hallway, Sans could hear Papyrus and Toriel talking quietly enough so that he couldn't hear them. He was surprised to hear them talking in what sounded like a normal conversation and not threats, but even more surprised to see them having breakfast at the makeshift table while they did so. He smiled as he walked into the room, glad to see them getting along. 

“H-hey Boss, hey Tori,” he said casually. Both monsters turned to look at him as he spoke. “Good morning Sans,” Toriel said as she stood up and quickly walked over to him, “Are you feeling better?” Sans nodded and Toriel bent down and gave him a hug. “That's wonderful!” She exclaimed, picking him up and spinning around. Since she was still holding Sans, she walked over and put him down in her chair. 

“Here, you can sit in my chair while I get you something to eat,” she said as she walked into the kitchen. Sans was a little dizzy, and the big chair made him feel smaller than he was, but it was comfortable to sit in. “Are you okay,” his boss asked, seeing his brother’s disoriented look. Sans snapped to attention, not used to the taller skeleton speaking to him so calmly. 

“Y-yeah, I'm f-fine…” He said softly, looking off to the side. Papyrus smiled warmly and went on to start a conversation. “I can see why you hated your job so much now Sans,” he said out of nowhere. Sans tilted his head to the side some, how would his brother know? Papyrus could read his brother's expression pretty well, so he answered his brother’s unspoken question. “Undyne made me fill in your spot as a punishment for accidentally dusting the monster that filled your place… I can see why you dozed off so often.” 

Sans looked slightly downcast, and Papyrus mentally slapped himself. He had been talking with Toriel for a while on how to be, well, more ‘normal’. He had tried to find something to say that wouldn't upset his brother and would give off the impression he was trying to change, but he had screwed it up. He wasn't good at this, which was something new to him, but he was determined to get it right. 

“I'm sorry, Sans… I'm not very good at this…” Papyrus said solemnly, staring down at his plate, frustratedly himself. Sans looked up with some surprise written across his skull, not expecting that. “N-no, Boss, i-it's fine,” he quickly stuttered out. Papyrus looked up at him, and he would have normally been able to hold his tongue, but from his emotional in tatters from the previous night, he couldn't help as his thoughts spilled out. 

“But it's not!” He said, voice raising some as he cut his gloved hands over his face. “I've been so horrible to you for so long that I can't even think of anything to say to you… I don't deserve a brother like you, one who would just put everything aside without a second thought…” Papyrus could feel his sins crawling on his back, and he couldn't help but allow himself a second to wallow in self hatred. Not a moment later, he felt small arms wrapping themselves around him in a tight embrace. 

Sans had magically appeared next to him, and was hugging him while burying his head into his brothers scarf. The taller skeleton was broken from his self depreciating thoughts as a result. Sans pulled back and faced his brother, “it's okay,” he murmured softly. Papyrus took a deep breath and sighed. “Wait… How did you get over here?” He asked, trying to change the route the ‘conversation’ had taken. 

Sans only shrugged and said “magic,” before he teleported back into Toriel’s chair. Papyrus looked at him, surprised, but didn't have a chance to say anything else since Toriel walked into the room with Sans’ food. She had overheard them, but didn't want to get more involved than she had or wanted to be. She moved her plate from where it had been on the table, and replaced it with Sans’. She shifted hers over to an unoccupied spot on the makeshift table, which was hard to do since it was so small. 

Sans opened his mouth to protest sitting in her chair this morning, but she interrupted him before he could speak. “It is fine, I'll just go get the other chair,” she said, walking over to retrieve it from Sans’ room. Upon returning, she sat down and the three of them began to eat. Both Papyrus and Toriel hadn't really eaten much of their breakfast yet since she had been trying to help Papyrus earlier, so they were glad to be able to actually eat now. 

After a minute of silence, Sans spoke, “wow, this is really good Tori.” Deciding to make another attempt at conversation, Papyrus spoke up next. “Yes, I agree. Where did you learn to cook like this?” Toriel smiled and rested her chin on her paw for a moment in thought. “I learned from my mother when I was little… But she only taught me because I almost burnt the kitchen trying to make a pie before,” she snickered. 

“As I grew older I tried many different recipes and even improved some, like what we are having now. Why do you ask?” Papyrus was almost caught off guard, but was quick to respond. “I am a chef myself, and I bet we could,” he paused for a moment, “find ways to improve based off each others creations.” 

Toriel nodded in agreement, “I am sure we could. How about you Sans?” He looked up from his meal and tried to think of something to say. She knew why he hadn't cooked or baked before, but he didn't want to be rude or make her feel bad. “Yeah, I'd l-like to learn, b-but I think I'd need a beginners class to start with,” he said, remembering what had happened with the cinnamon when he had helped before. 

When they had about finished up, Toriel gathered up the dishes and went to wash them, but stopped before she went to do so. She leaned into the living room again and got the attention of the skeleton brothers. “I know that this may be sudden, but it would be wise to think of weather you wish to stay here or leave. You a both welcome to stay here for as long as you like, but we would need to do a little fixing up around here, so I would like to know what you decide when you are ready.” 

With that she turned to go do the dishes, leaving the skeleton brothers to discuss their plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, time to... Vote?  
> I think I'm going to have this open for a week (because my eyes are jerks and now I need glasses) and however long it takes me to write the next chapter, so don't hesitate to put your response down below!  
> *slips behind protective barrier just in case  
> Thanks for reading!!!


	21. A choice is made

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Try reading the title.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Sorry for the delay, I had to do some extra schoolwork for the end of the quarter... And I better keep working on this one thing, I am not doing to well on it and I should fix that...)  
> But despite that here is a chapter!   
> ENJOY!!!

At first there was silence in the living room, leaving the two brothers staring at each other as only the sounds from the kitchen drifted into their non-existent ears. Sans was silent due to his conflicting thoughts, his desire to stay verses his loyalty to his brother. Papyrus was trying to figure out what was going on his brother’s head since he didn't want to accidentally pressure him into making a certain choice. But after a minute of silence Papyrus could tell he would have to speak first since his brother wasn't going to. 

“So,” Papyrus began to say, “what were you thinking we should do?” Sans’ expression quickly became nervous and he tried to stay calm. ‘This is your brother talking to you, not your boss.’ He took a deep breath, further calming himself. ‘He asked you your opinion, there is no wrong answer.’ He let it out. ‘He's not going to hurt you, he's not going to hurt you…’ 

“W-well, I honestly want t-to stay here..” Sans said with an edge of hesitance. Papyrus nodded. As of now he was leaning toward the decision of going back home, but he hadn't really thought about it the past couple days and was open to hearing both options. Sans could see the gears turning in his brother’s skull, but he awaited a response from his brother. 

When no such response came within the few seconds, he decided to push for a response. “What h-have you been thinking?” He asked. Papyrus leaned back in his chair before saying anything. “Honestly, I don't know. I haven't thought about it,” he said truthfully. “I am open to hearing what each has to offer for us…” Sans stood up as a small idea popped into his head. He slid off his chair and started off in the direction of his room. 

The taller skeleton began to ask where he was going, but Sans just turn around and held up the universal signal for ‘just a second’. Papyrus gazed off at where his brother had gone and watched as he quickly returned with some pencils and paper. They had been in his room from when he hadn't been able to speak and had written everything down in order to communicate. “I-I thought maybe we can m-make a list, like some s-sorta pros and cons thing…” He shyly said to his brother. 

“I-I mean if you w-want to, of c-corse,” Sans quickly added on. He was looking off to the side at the ground nervously. Papyrus internally frowned at that, but he knew that negativity would get them nowhere… He knew that very well. But he did think that his older brother had a good idea. “I think that's a good idea brother,” Papyrus said in a matter of fact tone. Sans’ skull looked up from the floor and at his brother, slight surprise present in his small smile. 

He gingerly handed his brother the paper and Papyrus hesitated before taking it. “I-I think you should w-write it… my handwriting I-is kinda messy…” Papyrus knew that this was not true since he had seen his brothers handwriting while he was sick and couldn't speak, it was even on the paper in front of him, but he couldn't bring himself to argue. So he gently took the papers and pencil from the shorter skeleton and found a blank sheet to work with. 

After a few quick strokes of the pencil, Papyrus had labeled the two sides (Stay and Leave) and split each down the middle to form two columns (pros and cons). “We can start with going and move onto staying afterwards,” Papyrus began, “so you can say anything and I will write it in the correct spot.” Sans nodded and sat back down in his chair. 

“W-well, there is always y-your job with the Guard…” Papyrus wrote down ‘Guard job in jeopardy’ on the cons side. He knew if they went back that there would be hell to pay from being missing for so long. “T-things would probably go back t-to h-how they used to b-be… Since Kill or be Killed h-has probably not changed…” Papyrus wrote that as two things, both on the cons side. 

Back and forth it went for what felt like an hour, but it probably hadn't been that long. By the time they had finished, almost every possible outcome had been thought of for each choice, and both sides of the paper had many scribbles of effects that would take place based off one choice. When they compared the two sides, it was almost easy to choose one over the other. However, there was one thing stopping them… 

Tories had finished the dishes and had been trying to tune out what they were saying since she really didn't feel like making herself worry any more than she already was on the inside. She walked in with a smile, “boys, have you made up your minds?” They glanced at each other for a moment before Sans spoke. “Well, we have, but t-there's something we n-need to do first…” 

“That we could use some extra help on,” Papyrus continued. Toriel's smile turned into a frown of confusion. “...what exactly were you thinking?” 

The two brothers looked at each other for another second, “We w-want to stay, but t-there's some things w-we need first,” Sans said. Toriel smiled slightly at their choice of staying, but was still suspicious. “Help doing what exactly?” 

Sans smiled slightly, “well, ya see, we have a short mission t-to Snowdin to retrieve some things and get rid of others. W-we really don't w-want anyone looking for us, so we want to erase s-some of our existence there…” Papyrus nodded. “We would like if you’d come with us to help us gather some of our things.” 

Toriel hated the thought of going outside the door, but she had hated the thought of letting Sans in when she had first been faced with it. But just like before, it only had to be done once before life could take a turn for the better for herself and her friend… it was just once, and it wasn't like she would have to stay forever out there and interact with all the supposedly mean spirited monsters out there. The ex-Queen felt it was a small price to pay for what would lie afterwards. She would never be alone. sans wouldn't be abused anymore. Papyrus could learn to change. And no one would ever have to be unhappy again. 

“I… I will go with you!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Next chapter should be here soon since I actually know what I will be doing! Also the response for staying was pretty overwhelming... So that's a thing.  
> Also I went to Comic con today and it was great! I cosplayed as Gaster and I got waaaayyy too much Undertale stuff... But I had a great time, some people even wanted their pictures with me!)
> 
> I know I probably sound like a broken record, but thank you guys for all the support! I honestly never imagined that this many people would like what I write. (I would still keep posting if like no one liked it because I'm the author that posts when only one person reads it!) soooo, I'm gonna start the next chapter!


	22. Mission!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans, Toriel, and Papyrus all travel to the skeleton brother's old house to get stuff. What could go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (sorry I've had this done for a while, but the power was out so my internet was out as well as my laptop, and its really hard to post stuff from my phone! The next chapter... well, I've written three different versions of it, and I'm not really happy with any of them, so I am going to write another one... It will be out soon I promise!!!)  
> Anyway, here is the chapter!  
> ENJOY!!!

The door closed behind them with a soft click. Toriel had made sure to actually lock it this time and carried no key with her after Papyrus had taken the time to explain why that would be a bad idea. In summary, he said that if anyone got a hold of it that not only would they all be dead, but the entire underground would now be corrupted and filled with evil. So she left they key, but she did bring a dark cloak just in case.

Sans had his hood up as well to try and block anyone from seeing him and possibly recognizing him, but Papyrus wore nothing extra to try and mask his appearance. He told them that since they would be going through the trees he would be fine, plus his armor would have poked through anything anyway. After a brief look for any other monsters, the three of them slipped into the tree line and started off to Snowdin.

Sans would have teleported them straight to the house, but he felt that a jump that big would leave him drained, and if something came up that required their immediate escape he would not be able to do anything. So they were saving that as a sort of fail safe just in case. It had only been a minute before they came across Sans' sentry station, or what used to be his sentry station. There was a monster sitting there in the middle of the night for whatever reason.

Papyrus thought he recognized the monster as the new recruit assigned there shortly before he found the Ruins and his brother inside it, but he was mentally trying to put a name there. It didn't really matter, but they would have to be careful when going around him. Papyrus was in front of his brother and Toriel, so he turned and gestured for them to be quiet. He then made the other monsters presence known to them so they would put extra effort into starting as silent as possible.

They were almost past him when the other monster's phone went off, signifying the end of his shift and effectively scaring the living crap out of all of them. Papyrus had frozen and put out his eye lights, Toriel had whipped to face the sound, and Sans had turned to look, his left eye blazing red with his teleportation at the ready. However other monster did not notice this scene happening behind him and stood up to walk back to town.

He had almost made it out of the clearing when a slight flare of red caught his eye. When Sans saw him turn in their direction, he quickly covered his eye and tried to shut off his magic. The other monster looked directly at them, but from the darkness that persisted outside and the limited visibility from his armor, he saw nothing but trees. He slowly turned and went on his way, down a different path in the forest.

They all stood still for a minute, just to make sure he had gone before they continued on their journey through the woods. They all made sure to avoid branches and sticks, as well as the occasional human trap that had been moved from off the main path. In what seemed like no time, they had made it to Snowdin. Since they were currently behind their house, they would have to make sure no one was looking when they made a dash for the front door.

Papyrus looked around the corner and saw that no one was there, but before he could go, Sans grabbed his arm. "H-hey, me and Tori are gonna stay back here for a little," he whispered. Papyrus looked at him blankly, with an expression that just said 'why?'. Ignoring the taller's unspoken question, he gently pushed on his back to silently tell him to go. Mentally sighing, Papyrus turned and sprinted to the front door, which was unlocked to his surprise. He had honestly expected it to have been broken into.

At the back of the house, Sans quickly teleported in and out within seconds. He had returned from his room with they key to the back door, the door that led to his lab. He quickly unlocked it and gestured for Toriel to follow him inside. She had to duck a  
little to make it in the door since she was so tall. Once inside the room, she could stand again, but that really didn't help anything since she couldn't see.

Sans' red eye lights were the only thing she could see in the dark. She closed the door behind her and Sans flipped on the light. They weren't particularly bright, but it was enough to shock your eyes. As Toriel's adjusted, she could make out a small countertop with drawers underneath, some blueprints on the back of the table, but the thing that really caught her eye was the machine under a cloth in the back corner.

"I-I'm gonna assume you want to know what this place is," Sans said quietly. "It's a lab. My lab..." Toriel walked over to Sans as he opened a drawer and started shuffling through items in it. He had pulled out a picture, some blueprints, and a few papers with a handwriting she couldn't read. "What does the machine do?" She asked, looking towards the covered machine.

Sans slowly turned to look at it, a deep sadness in his eye sockets. "It... It was supposed to..." He hesitated before finishing his sentence. She put a paw on his shoulder, "you do not have to say..." Sans was silent for a minute, left staring at the machine.

"It was supposed to bring back my dad..." He said quietly. "No one else remembers him, but he was the royal scientist before Alphys. He made the Core, but fell into it... It erased him from existence and from most everyone's memories too." He moved back to sorting through the drawers. "But he was a good dad, and he didn't believe in kill or be killed. He always made sure we were safe and happy," he finished, a sad smile spreading across his skull.

Sans was taking out specific papers from the drawer and then setting them on the counter. It didn't take long before the first drawer was cleared of all Sans wanted to take with him, he moved onto the next one. The next one he was having trouble opening, so Toriel reached for it and helped to dislodge the stuck drawer. It came loose and flew forward, both of the monsters stumbling back a bit.

The next drawer had a small toolbox in it, but despite its small size, it was quite heavy. That was probably part of the reason the had such a hard time with the drawer. "C-could you get this Tori? I don't think I can carry it around f-for very long," he said, lifting the box to her. Toriel nodded and took the toolbox, slightly surprised at its weight, but not struggling at all. The last drawer just had blueprints in it, a few of which Sans added to his pile of papers. After that he picked them up and they both made their way outside and through the front door.  
...

Papyrus had been going up the stairs when he saw two quick flashes of red light come from behind Sans' cracked door. They were in rapid succession, leading him to believe that his brother had done whatever trick that allows him to be in one spot one moment and a different spot the next to get something from his room really quick. Although this made him slightly hesitant to enter his brother's room if he was possibly inside.

Peeking through the cracked door, he saw the room was empty and he let down his guard some. He had come to retrieve the book that the dog had knocked open, leading him to discover a few things he had no clue of previously. He doubted that Sans would take it, want to take it, or even remember it existed, so he figured that if he didn't grab it just in case that it would be left behind.

It was right where he had left it before, still lying open on the floor. He glanced around the room quickly, making sure that Sans wasn't watching, and he picked up the book and closed it. A papyrus turned and walked out of the room, making sure to put the door back where it had been. He had wasted enough time already, and time to collect their items was short enough. So Papyrus moved onto his room and began packing some clothes into a bag.   
...

Toriel and Sans noticed the absence of the younger skeleton once they reached the living room, shutting the door behind them. Papyrus must have been upstairs since he wasn't in the living room or the kitchen. "If you see anything you w-want for whatever reason just take it," he told Toriel. He didn't know what she might want, but maybe she wanted an extra blanket or some new pans or something.

Sans set his papers down on the dining room table and speedily walked to his room. He glanced into Papyrus' room and saw him in there, packing some of his stuff. Slightly relieved to see his brother, Sans went into his room and looked for anything he might want. He grabbed some extra shorts and shirts before realizing that was all he really wanted from his room.

He felt as if he was missing something, but chose to ignore it and went back downstairs. Toriel was in the kitchen, inspecting some of the pots and pans. Sans almost snickered at his friend, but he had offered for her to take anything and if someone had done that for mph in he would have done the exact same thing. So he was truly in no place to judge.

He walked in the kitchen next to her and bent down to retrieve some of the cloth bags from under the sink. He and Papyrus always used them when they went grocery shopping since the other one made noise and crinkled at the slightest touch, something they would put them at a disadvantage if someone decided to jump them. Sans had always scoffed at it mentally, but now couldn't help but thank Papyrus for his stubbornness, for it may have helped them now.

Papyrus walked down the steps as Sans was shuffling around and looking for the bags, making sure not to stomp on the steps and possibly alert monsters outside the house that there was someone inside. Sans pulled out a couple bags and began to put his stuff in one so its contents would make as little sound as possible and also be easy to handle. Toriel had picked out a few spices and one pot, so Sans got a thin blanket and gently wrapped the items up to the sound would be muffled. He did the same with the tools in the toolbox, just with a different cloth bag.

Papyrus had his own bag, he had used it sometimes when doing things for the Guard, so it was small enough to not limit movement, big enough to go,d everything he wanted, and padded so it would make no sound. With everyone's stuff in bags, they were ready to go. They were just about to walk out the door when Papyrus stopped them.

"Wait a second," he whispered, "I need to get one last thing." He the made his way over to the TV stand and picked up a framed picture that was next to it. It had previously been facing down, but he picked it up and put it in his bag. He joined back with the other two monsters and they prepared to dash back to the woods when the door was busted down.

It slammed to the ground in front of the three roommates, startling all of them. But the sight that lay just past the now broken front door shocked all of them. Undyne and the monster they had seen at Sans' old sentry station were ready and about to attack. Undyne gave a sharp-toothed grin. "Long time no see, r i g h t P a p y r u s !?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *puts up a shield just in case  
> (mwahahahahahaha! cliffhanger!)  
> Well, time to keep rewriting the next chapter!  
> (Also I swear I am commenting back on all your comments, but the internet and my laptop hate me apparently... and the same thing is happening on the other platforms I post this on, so I know it's just my crappy internet/laptop/whatever is making this happen.:'( )
> 
> And I still can't thank everyone enough for all the support! I honestly expected maybe one or two people to maybe read it, but this is still crazy! Plus I never thought that this would reach 20+ chapters, I expected a maximum of maybe 7 or 10, but not ever this much! So thank you all and have a good whatever unit of time/time reference or whatever I am trying to say here until we 'meet' again!
> 
> (*goes back and edits chapter before posting  
> Geez, I really can't spell, especially when I have inspiration and am trying to type quickly...)
> 
> (*goes back a second time and edits more thoroughly   
> AHHHHHHH SO MANY MISTAKES I MISSED!!!!)


	23. Attempted Revenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FISH FIGHT!!!!*chucks fish out into... uhm... the fourth wall (??)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (3033 hits and 235 kudos?!?! wtf?!?!? Thanks you guys! ;3)  
> It may be short, but it is out! So here read the chapter!  
> (Sans and I behave the same way when we are pissed, who knew?)  
> Anyway, ENJOY THE CHAPTER!!

Undyne laughed at her luck. She had been without a second in command for more than a week, more if you count the time he was suspended for dusting the new recruit, and the workload was starting to get to her. She had literally everything to do, Asgore was pissed at her for not having a second just in case something happened to her, and she was starting to get really mad. When Dulio had called her and told her that he thought they were in Snowdin now, she set out with a vengeance. She quickly whispered to Dulio to go and get some of the other guards, and he left with a salute. 

Now that she had found her second she could finally get some revenge for the extra workload and release some of her anger, something she really needed to do. She didn't laugh for long, not wanting to let her prey have a chance for escape or attack. 

“Do you have any clue how pissed Asgore was at me? Losing two sentries and then my second in command just disappearing!” Undyne shouted, not caring whether she woke up anyone in the town up. She looked next to Papyrus, spying Sans. “You weren't too much of a loss, but I still had to find someone to take over your job!” 

Undyne turned to look at the third monster and was surprised by what she saw. “And Queen Toriel,” she said mockingly, causing all three to glare at the fish angrily. “I’m sure Asgore will love to have you back,” she growled at them. Toriel bristled up at the thought of going back to the king. He had changed for the worse, and she wanted nothing to do with him, so even considering having to go back was a bad thought. 

Toriel quickly hurled a fireball at her, but Undyne blocked it with her spear. She wagged her finger at the angry ex-Queen. “You -all of you- are coming with me,” she stated definitively, waving her spear at the three monsters in the house. Toriel was suddenly enveloped in green magic, leaving her body movements and magic stalled, Sans was frozen in his spot, and Papyrus glared at Undyne angrily. “Over my dead body,” was all he said before striking out.

She blocked his attack, using his own bone club to throw him to the ground. “That's how I'm planning it,” she smirked. Papyrus glared up at her from his spot on the floor as she swung another spear down at him. Suddenly Sans was in front of his brother, using two crossed bones to block her attack. Undyne let her surprise flash across her expression before me asking it again with a sneer. 

“Funny,” she said, “you've never been the one to cause me trouble. It's always been your brother.” Sans only stared daggers at her, his left eye flaming red with magic. “But I guess you really can't expect much from a one HP monster, even if he is Papyrus’ older brother.” She summoned up another spear and used her other arm to strike at Sans from the side. 

The spear shattered upon contact with Sans’ gaster blaster skull. In order for that to happen, one monster’s magic had to completely overpower another monster’s, whether it be by strength, by power, or by emotion behind the attack. Undyne gawked for a moment, entirely caught off guard. “Don't underestimate me,” he said, tone flat and sockets dark. 

“You were never this great fighter either,” she muttered, taking a step away from him and pulling her remaining spear back. Sans held his two bones at his side, holding a steady glare at her. “I f-fight to protect, Undyne,” he stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the underground. “That's w-why some other monsters fight too. And I will fight,” he turned around to look at his brother, who was also slightly in shock. “I'll fight for my b-brother, I'll fight for Toriel, so you b-better back down if you know what's good for you.” 

Undyne stared at him for a moment, startled by his sudden bravery and not only willingness but the ability to fight. She took a step back and went to threaten him with Toriel’s life, but she saw and felt his blue magic overcome and replace her green magic. Toriel was then moved behind Sans, standing next to Papyrus, before he let her soul free of anyone's influence. 

Undyne made one last attempt, sending out several spears at the three of them. Toriel and Papyrus used their attacks this time, destroying and deflecting each of the spears. Realizing that she was completely outnumbered and overpowered, Undyne tried to escape, slowly backing out of the house. She reached for her phone, only to be cut off. “No you don't,” Sans told her. 

He then promptly summoned a huge gaster blaster and shot it at her. It hit its target spot on, sending Undyne flying back into the snow. She only had one HP left, but knowing her she would be fine. Then with his blue magic Sans lifted their bags, grabbed his friend's hand and his brothers hand, and teleported them back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOO ANOTHER CHAPTER DONE YAY!!  
> (sorry in advance for seriousness) But I need to ask you all your opinions regarding this: Is this like almost the 'end' of A Knocking at the Door? I mean, I DO have other stuff planned, like a thing of some random one-shots I think of for the series, and an entirely different huge plot line that would probably double the amount written if I added it on here, but I am going to ask if you think I should put it under a different title and make it a separate fic. I am leaning towards this, because... eh, screw it! I'm planning on making a true pacifist run but with many, many, mmaaannnyyy twists along the way. Basically what I am trying to say, is this may be "ending" but it's really not ending.  
> Just a heads up! (I had to say something because I couldn't write the next chapter without figuring out what was going to happen next. It just has to flow properly, otherwise, my writing part will hate itself)  
> Also probably won't update next week, I'll be on spring break... camping... at the beach... in another state... with no wifi... and posting would eat up all the data and I would have to pay for it, which I really don't want to do... so like it or not, unless some random person is like 'here, free wifi' then it's probably not going to come out next week.  
> But long car rides = plenty of time to write, so that's a plus!  
> I (hope) think that's all i have to say, Bye until next time!


	24. Everything's Alright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This... is the end...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) sorry for the delay, I was camping for spring break without ant wifi  
> 2) OMG THIS IS THE ACTUAL LAST CHAPTER!!! (minus the bloopers and stuff I took out that I'll post next.)  
> 3)DON'T WORRY, THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL!!!!!!!!  
> But since this is the last chapter, I want to thank everyone for all the support I have received while writing this. As my first decent fanfiction, this was a new experience for me and I am so glad you all have enjoyed/can enjoy this story.   
> Without further ado, HERE IS THE LAST CHAPTER!!!  
> ENJOY!!!

The bags dropped to the floor with a collective version of a dull thunk. Sans still had the hands of the other two monsters and gripped them tighter as he felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, making him lose his balance. This action was enough to alert the two other monsters to his distress, both of them turning to look at the small skeleton between them. 

“Sans,” Toriel said with concern in her voice, “are you alright?” Sans shook his dizziness off and let go of their hands. “Y-yeah, I'm fine, I'm f-fine…” he nodded slowly. Papyrus still hadn't said anything and was staring down at his brother in shock. He still couldn't believe what he had seen earlier and was having trouble comprehending it. 

“Are you sure?” Toriel questioned him again. “You used a lot of magic back there…” He nodded again, “I-I’ll be fine Tori.” Sans slowly took a step, walking over to his bag of stuff. He had put his clothes and more normal items over all of the blueprints, but he didn't want Papyrus to see them yet. He was too drained to think of any clever excuses, so if he was ever going to have to explain their past to him, Sans wanted to be energized. 

Toriel put a paw on his shoulder. “Would you like me to get your toolbox?” She asked him. Sans hesitated, then nodded, making a warm smile appear on her face. She realized she still felt a little stiff from the green magic when she bent over to the floor to pick up the toolbox and found that there was tension in her mussels. They both picked up Sans’ bags and went to the skeleton brothers’ room. Toriel made a mental note that she would have to clean out the storage room to make another bedroom for them so they wouldn't have to share. 

Sans set his bag along the back wall and Toriel put the toolbox next to it. “I-I'm gonna take a n-nap, okay Tori? Please, t-tell Bo- uh…” He trailed off for a moment, unsure of himself. “P-please tell P-Papyrus…” He spoke very softly. Toriel's smile widened and she gave him a big hug, lifting him off the ground. She was so happy to see him getting even better here, especially now that one, they were staying, and two, Papyrus could and will be changing for the better. 

Toriel gently set him down, “I will tell him. Now you rest well.” He nodded and crawled into the makeshift bed that had not been disturbed while he had been sick, so it was still there against the wall. Toriel walked out of the room and closed the door, leaving it cracked just in case. 

As she made her way into the living room, she noticed that Papyrus was still standing there, dumbfounded. She began to walk past him, but stopped and waved her hand in front of his face. “Papyrus, are you okay?” She asked the tall skeleton while she waved her hand. He seemed to snap back to reality then and after a moment of hesitation, he nodded. He started to pick up his bag from the floor as Toriel spoke to him again. 

“Your brother decided to take a nap and he asked me to tell you,” she said, picking up her own bag off assorted kitchen utensils. Papyrus nodded again, “after that performance, and saving all of our lives, he deserves it.” Papyrus set his bag on the couch, “I'll just leave this here now, I don't want to disturb him.” Toriel smiled again, mostly to herself. She started to put her bag in the kitchen, but set it down on her chair and walked over to Papyrus. 

The goat woman put her hand on his shoulder. “You may not realize it, but you are doing much better,” she quietly said to the skeleton. He looked up at her, silently saying that he was trying his best. “Now, since I have better utensils, why don't we go and cook some?” Papyrus didn't move for a second, but then he stood all the way back up and nodded. “I… I would like that.” 

…

Sans woke up from a peaceful sleep, feeling well-rested and full of energy. He could feel that his magic reserves were almost completely replenished, he probably just needed a snack to completely fill his magic capacity. Sans lifted himself from the makeshift bed, pulling himself into a sitting position. The door was slightly ajar, letting some light shine through into the dark room. Sans let his left eye flare into life, both to test that his magic was replenished and to make it a little easier to see. 

He looked to the other side and was caught off guard when he saw Papyrus sitting against the wall next to his makeshift bed. Sans helped and shut his eye off again, letting his red eye lights return to his sockets. “P-Pa-Boss?” He said, startled. The younger skeleton turned to look at him. “W-what are you d-doing here?” Sans asked, calming himself down. 

Papyrus turned back to staring down the wall. “Thinking… Just thinking…” He was telling the truth, something he still was not used to, but it was the truth. He and Toriel had cooked for a while before they cleaned up the kitchen and went their separate ways, Toriel to read and Papyrus to think. Okay, maybe he wasn't telling the entire reason why, but that didn't matter. 

“What t-time is it?” Sans asked his younger brother. Papyrus thought about it for a moment, they had left early this morning to go to Snowdin, and that whole trip probably took a couple hours or so. Plus the time they had spent afterward cooking, reading, thinking, and napping, which drew him to the conclusion that it should still be before the artificial sun would rise in the rest of the underground. “Still very early,” Papyrus replied, “you can go back to sleep if you want to.” 

Sans shook his skull and kicked off the blanket. “Nah, I-I'm good,”. He said as he stood up. Papyrus turned to face him once again, a look of slight concern both in his features and in his voice, “are you sure?” Sans nodded again, feeling slight de-javu after Toriel had done almost the same thing earlier. 

Sans stretched, a few bones popping as he did so. He started to leave the room to get some water and leave his brother to think, but Papyrus grabbed his shoulder. His old reflexes came into effect, making him tense up and curl in on himself slightly. When Papyrus saw this he let go, guilt and regret plain on his face, but he continued with what he was going to say. 

“I… Thanks. For saving our asses back there,” Papyrus said, looking Sans in the eyes. He looked off to the side as he said this next part, “I didn't know you had it in you… I shouldn't have underestimated you…” Sans turned around and hugged his brother, slightly hesitant to do so, but pushing away any fear he had. Papyrus hugged him back as Sans muttered, “it's nothing… I'd do a-anything for you and Tori anyway.” 

When they pulled back Sans extended a skeletal hand out to his brother to help him up from the floor. Papyrus took it, and soon the brothers had made it out the door and into the rest of the house. They went into the living room, finding Toriel in her chair reading a book. She looked up from her book and smiled at them. Sans ran into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water. 

Toriel and Papyrus were left in the living room, but that didn't last very long. Just after Sans finished his drink, rinsed the glass, and put it on the drying rack, he went back into the living room and spoke. “H-hey, do you guys want to go f-for a walk?” He asked them. Papyrus shrugged and nodded while Toriel set her book down on her chair. 

“Won't we need lights of some kind since it's still dark?” Papyrus asked Toriel. She shook her head, telling both of the skeletons that the Ruins were a bit more special at night. Papyrus’ mind briefly thought of the other monsters in the Ruins that had tried to kill him before, but he shrugged it off, thinking that they were either asleep or could be out at ease by the presence of Sans and Toriel. 

Toriel unlocked and opened the door leading to the rest of the Ruins, holding it open for Sans and Papyrus to pass. She made sure to close it, the door clicking as it did so. It was dark in the room, too dark to see, but before either of the skeletons could say anything the pathways were suddenly glowing softly, illuminating the room around them. 

Toriel smiled and started down the gleaming trails, Sans and Papyrus following after her. Since she had lived in the Ruins for so long, she had practically memorized the layout, so even if the paths hadn't glowed she would have been able to find her way in the dark. The were quick to pass through the rooms with the hidden buttons and had almost made it through half the Ruins in what felt like no time. 

When they came upon the first puzzle that had water involved, they noticed it glew as well. “Reminds me of Waterfall,” Sans muttered. He didn't normally like thinking about it since it would lead to a series of happy memories he didn't want to have to think about, but now it was different. Everything was okay now. They were safe, they were happy, so he could think about things in the past, things that he couldn't go back and change no matter how much he wanted to. 

“You may not r-remember him, Papyrus, but our d-dad was a good monster,” Sans said, not really realizing that he was speaking. “S-sometimes when he was off work for a day, he would take us to Waterfall. It was always fun, j-just getting to be there and stare at the fake stars,” he uttered loud enough for the other two monsters to hear. He probably would have kept going if he hadn't half tripped over something in the pathway. 

Papyrus caught him before he hit the ground, letting Sans regain his balance for a moment. He didn't know what to say regarding what Sans just told him, but Toriel spoke before he had a chance to think about it for too long. “He sounds like a wonderful father,” she said warmly. Sans nodded, and they continued to walk on. 

It wasn't much longer before they reached the end of the Ruins. The skeleton brothers almost turned around to walk back, but Toriel pushed them on. Soon they were standing on a bed of buttercups. It was pretty in the dark, the columns that lined the walls illuminated the buttercups and the ground around them. Toriel looked upwards, and the other monsters did the same. 

“This is where the humans fall,” she said, gazing upward to the hole in the roof of the Underground. “Since you two live here now, I want you to promise me something. Promise me that you will help me watch over and protect any humans that fall down here, will you not?” She turned to them, her eyes slightly glossy. 

Sans nodded his skull, “yeah, I promise, Tori.” Papyrus considered it for a moment, but he didn't really have any choice, he was already staying here and leaving would be a death sentence. Plus he didn't join the Royal Guard because he wanted to be freed, at the time he had just wanted to protect his brother and prove his strength. “Me too,”. papyrus said. She eyed him suspiciously for a moment before letting herself smile once more. 

They started to leave again, but this time Sans stopped them. “Wait a minute,” he said. He summoned up a gaster blaster and stepped on the top of its skull. He moved it upwards so that it was to the top of the cave and next to the hole in the mountain. He stretched out his hand to it, but it stopped when it met an invisible barrier that kept it from moving any further. “Didn't really think that would w-work anyway,” he said. 

He started to lower himself to the ground again, but his eyes caught sight of something. A slight gasp escaped him as he looked at it. Toriel and Papyrus were still on the ground, looking up at him, but he used his magic to grab their souls and lift them up to where he was. Toriel started to ask what he was doing but was stopped by Sans. “Look,” he told them, pointing ahead and upwards. 

Both of the monsters gasped like Sans had. They were at just the right angle to see through the barrier, out of the mountain’s upper cave, and into the sky. There lay a sky skull of stars, shining just for them at this early hour. The dark sky behind them was also colorful, filled with dark pinks and blues and purples that they had never seen before. 

The white specks in the sky, the real sky, we're enough to take the breath from all of them. “It's been so long…” Toriel said under her breath. To the skeletons, it was completely new, but that just made it even more beautiful for them to see it now. They shone brilliantly into the cave, and into the eyes of the three monsters living in the Ruins home. 

“I-I don't care if we are ever freed anyway,” Sans said to them, “as long as I'm with you guys, everything's alright.” 

And just like that, everything was fine. There was nothing to trouble the trio, and they lived in perfect harmony… Well, not perfect, but they lived just as well as they could for a long time. 

 

Until one day a human fell into the underground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *dies (I thought this would never end, and now that it has I am a huge mess of... well, I guess bittersweetness or something.)  
> But don't worry, this will have (at least XD) two follow-ups, Misadventures In The Ruins, and A Step Outside The Door. Or, that's what I am calling them for now. MITR (Misadventures In The Ruins) will be a huge compilation of one-shot type things that take place between AKATD and ASOTD (A Step Outside The Door), and I will take requests from anyone on what to write! (I may not canonize it tho). ASOTD (I don't have the patience to write out these titles with proper capitalization lol) will be the official sequel, and I will post the first part of that soon! So stay tuned for those, and thanks again for all the support! See you... (Uhmmmm....) At the sequel? I guess???  
> Bye!


	25. Bloopers N' Stuff That I For Some Reason Kept

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> these are all the... most of the parts that were taken from AKATD... Either I didn't like it enough to use it, got a better idea after writing it and then trashed this part, or it just didn't fit in right. Thought you guys might want to see them! (For some reason). Short briefings on what had been happening each chapter will be provided for your convenience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may notice that I actually used these parts later or changed them up some to better fit the story, so just as a... thing (???), you can have some of these 'bloopers'!  
> Oh yeah, I had many more of these, but the document I kept them in was... well, I can't get to it anymore, plus I didn't think to save some trashed parts from the beginning anyway.  
> Meh. Anyway, I hope you all  
> ENJOY!

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DELETED ADD INS  
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(That I for some reason thought were worth saving)  
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Chapter 11(???) alternate, (just as Sans was hit by Toriel's attack, protecting his brother, before I was struck by inspiration to make things work a little better)

They appeared to have taken the brunt of the blow, but some of the attacks had still gone through or over the Blasters. Some of the attacks had hit Sans. 

For a moment, all three of the monsters stood wide-eyed and quiet as they watched Sans’ HP go down. Knowing that he only had one HP just made these seconds worse, for Toriel was watching the monster who had become her best friend, and keeping her company pretty much always, disappear now when she had only wanted to defend him. To protect him from his brother. The brother who was now watching his HP drop with wide eyes, thinking of how he should have been kinder to him, and how he had come all this way, only to be dusted by the both of them. 

But his HP never dropped all the way. Not all the way, but most of it, stopping at one. The numbers next to his HP bar read ‘1/10’, leaving the only amount of HP he should have had remaining. 

Both of the taller monsters stared at him, trying to comprehend how this had happened, while Sans looked just as surprised at the fact that he had survived the hits. 

\---------------------------------------@-----------------------------@--------------------------------------  
(Origional Chapter 13)

(Woah, I had a MUCH different for how the plot should go at this point in time, and I needed to hurry up and cut it to Sans being sick and Papyrus trying to change... I wrote the whole thing then got a much better idea, so in the bloopers it went! This was how I was going to have Papyrus wake up after his and Toriel's fight, asking for help then, but like I said, a much better idea came to me which led me to the plot/timeline/thingy/chronological order of events of AKATD that is actually cannon!)

Papyrus woke up to a bright light overhead. He narrowed his sockets as they slowly adjusted to the light. Although his vision was slightly blurry, as he fully opened his eye sockets he could make out he was laying on his back on something like a couch. He felt stiff and warm, which he soon discovered was due to the quilt laying on him. 

The tall skeleton moved to pull himself into a sitting position but found that one arm had been bandaged and his entire body was sore. Slight waves of pain washed over him when he tried to move further. He could feel the bandages in other places, but couldn't figure out where they had come from. After sitting himself up some, despite his injuries, he looked around to an environment he did not immediately recognize. 

It took him a minute or so to remember finding his brother after days of searching in someone else’s arms, fighting the ex-queen of the underground to get his brother back, and his brother saving his life twice and her’s once. He also vaguely remembered the last attack Toriel sent out, knocking the book on his head and coupled with his low magic reserves and low HP at the time, knocking him unconscious. 

He looked around to see the room had not changed much since whenever he had been knocked out, other than the dust on the floor from the skeleton’s attacks being missing now. It was presumably cleaned up and dumped somewhere. Papyrus took notice of a chair next to the couch, but he couldn’t think of a reason it would be there. Looking back at the couch, he did not recognize it, at least hadn’t noticed it before when he had first entered the home. Although that was unlikely since he was ‘The Great and Terrible Papyrus’. 

After continuing to observe the room for a moment, his eyes led him to the entrance to another room, presumably the kitchen. The light was on and the sweet smells of cooking were starting to trickle into the room. However, the tall skeleton stopped upon his thoughts reaching who was actually cooking. He had never allowed Sans to cook and thought that he probably couldn’t cook anyway. That left him with the only other occupant of the house; Toriel. 

After realizing this he went onto high alert, checking his magic levels and considering his options. When he felt that his magic levels were up to standard he paused. Normal magic levels, bandages over injuries, and waking up in the Ruins… So she had decided not to kill him or even kick him out of the safe haven. Part of his mind shouted at her weakness of showing kindness to someone she had only known as a cruel monster, but the larger part was perplexed at her choice. Why wouldn’t she have killed him or thrown him out?

As he tried to answer the question, he failed to notice the monster he was wondering about walk up next to him carrying something. It didn't take him long to notice once she was next to the couch. Papyrus hardened his gaze to show he meant business and didn't want to be messed with, but she only gave him a sympathetic smile. 

“I have brought you some food,” she said to him, the overwhelming kindness in her voice attacking his defensive walls. He started to refuse, but she interrupted him before he started to speak. “You must be hungry after three days of doing nothing but rest, and you need your HP to rise all the way up.” He raised a non-existent eyebrow, “three days?” Toriel looked to the side and nodded. “Sorry about that. You know, the knocking you unconscious part…” 

Sighing, the dark skeleton reached outward for the plate. “Your brother told me how much you loved spaghetti. I was going to practice for when you woke up, but you woke up just as I was finishing it.” He supposed he had been out for a while, and it was understandable, but the part that really affected him was when she mentioned Sans having told her so. He was slightly suspicious of the dish but figured that if she had not killed him yet it would be a waste of her most likely limited resources to end him now with poison. 

He used his good arm to use his fork while he set the plate down on his lap. Toriel turned around and walked back into the kitchen. Still hesitating, Papyrus lifted the fork to his jaw. After taking a bite of the pasta, he told himself to remember to thank Toriel for the dish. It was probably close to the best thing he had ever eaten. He supposed that having cooked for the king and her children in the past kept her up to high standards. 

Just as he was finishing, Toriel came back in the room with a glass of water and some medicine on a tray. He supposed he better take whatever it was considering his condition. He couldn’t remember being this injured since he was a little kid living in waterfall with his brother, struggling to survive. Toriel explained how the medicine would help to heal him faster and lessen the pain as much as possible. He still didn't trust her, but if she had truly not hurt his brother after the time he had spent with her, and hadn't poisoned him yet, he figured he probably had nothing to lose. So he reluctantly reached for the medicine and took it. 

“Do you need anything else?” She asked him warmly. He started to refuse, but then a thought crossed his mind. “Where is my brother?” He asked firmly, demanding an answer. She seemed slightly concerned upon hearing him ask this question and was still for a moment before looking at him with an expression of honesty on her face. She sat down in the chair next to the couch before looking downward and giving him his answer. 

“He stayed with you the entire time. He was constantly by your side, he never left. Not even for a second.” She mostly looked at Papyrus as she spoke, but her eyes would go to the sides, staring off into the distance. Her eyes were slightly glossy, becoming wetter as she continued. “He did not close his eyes once in those three days, he did not eat, and I practically had to drag him into his room so he could actually get some sleep.” She started to tear up as she continued. “I know it may seem strange to you… Goodness knows it still surprises me… But he really cares about you, even after everything…” 

Seeing someone be this emotional about something that didn't really concern them slightly confused Papyrus. Other parts of his mind either wanted to slap her for allowing his brother to neglect himself for so long or slap her due to the weakness that was so obvious. But then again, it was safe to show that kind of weakness here since there was no one here to exploit the said weakness. 

Toriel spoke again, breaking Papyrus’ train of thought in the process. “Part of me wants to understand how, but at the same time… I completely understand…” She was almost to the point of crying now. Papyrus still couldn't quite figure out why, unless she truly did care for his brother, just like he did. Another piece of him just wanted to burn up at the thought of someone else caring for Sans, but he guessed it was good for him to have someone there for him. Papyrus surely wasn't there for him… Only after careful consideration did he decide to speak. 

“C-could… Would you be willing to help me?” He questioned. She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. “I want you to help me with my brother… You may not be able to tell, but I actually care about him very much. I just don’t know how to talk to him or even approach him anymore… It took him going missing for me to realize, but I know now that I couldn't live without him…” 

His soul ached at his own words. He knew every bit of what he said was true, as well as the fact that Sans could probably never forgive him for what he had done to him. To his only brother. To the brother that had done nothing but try his best to take care of Papyrus and show him how much he actually loved him. He had always put up with whatever Papyrus threw at him, and only left when he believed that his younger brother would be better off without him. 

Toriel only nodded, some silent tears rolling down her cheeks now. “... It is funny, he would not even let me bandage your wounds. He insisted on doing it himself, despite his supposed lack of knowledge. He even tried to heal you, but with his HP still low at the time, he could barely conjure enough healing magic to soothe the pain…” Papyrus opened his mouth to question if she had let his brother’s injuries go without care, but she answered his question before he could get the words out. 

“I had to heal him and put bandages over his wounds, but he would not let me until I had finished with healing you as best I could.” Papyrus felt emotion wash over him, guilt stabbing into his soul like a knife. His brother only cared about Papyrus’ wellbeing and had never stopped to take care of himself. “Well shit, he really does care…” He said blatantly. 

Toriel smirked as if to sarcastically say ‘you think so?’ “Where is he now?” He asked her quickly. She wiped away at her tears and gestured to the hallway. “He is in his room. He had only been in there for about an hour or so, hopefully sleeping… We should not wake him.” Papyrus only nodded and looked at the wall ahead of him, thinking of how bad he had messed up, and if it was even possible to fix it. 

“You know,” Toriel said as she stood from her seat and began to take the plate back to the kitchen, “you have the best brother.” Papyrus slid back down on the couch, ignoring the newly numbed pain that shocked through some of his injuries. “I know,” he muttered. “And that's why I can't lose him…”

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(Ch 14(???????) beginning that I trashed)

(I don't even remember what chapter this goes to, and looking back I think it was chapter 14... I could be wrong, but still. Long story short, it's before Sans got sick and after Papyrus woke up after his and Toriel's fight... I think... I started with Toriel, then found it was hard to continue if I wanted to spend most of the chapter with the skelebros, so I trashed it... Yeah, that chapter turned out a whole lot different than how this beginning starts it.)

Toriel slowly woke up the next morning. She didn't want to have to face life for a while, she didn't want to have to deal with Papyrus as she knew she would eventually have too, she didn't want to be forced to be so careful around both the brothers since she didn't know what would set them off. That was the entire reason she didn't interact with the both of them at once the previous day. She wanted to be able to help them, or at least Sans, but she knew it was going to be a challenge. And for they reason, she did not want to get up.  
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CHAPTER 18 alternate/additional part

(Right as Toriel was passing Sans' room, after she had walked in on Papyrus breaking and Sans almost dying in the previous chapter, I originally had her go in and speak with Sans to confirm what happened, but I ran out of inspiration and found it easier to have her just walk by his room and figure it out later so I wouldn't have to think of dialogue XD .)

She knew that she shouldn't be poking her nose in her friend's business, but she felt almost obligated to. She almost knocked on his door, but remembered punching through it and just gently pushed it open the rest of the way. Quickly scanning the area, she could tell that Papyrus was not in the room. 

Sighing at that, she crept in and started to wake Sans up. Toriel felt bad for waking him, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something bad happened last night, or t least almost happened. Shaking him with gentle hands, Sans slowly blinked and opened his eye sockets. “Hello Sans, are you awake now?” She asked quietly. Sans yawned and nodded briefly before he started to shift himself into a sitting position. 

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CHAPTER 22 ALTERNATES: 

(Just after we met Undyne once again... pfft, I used the same beginning every time. I loved it so much when I wrote it the first time that I just used it in every single variant.)

Undyne laughed at her luck. She had been without a second in command for more than a week, more if you count the time he was suspended for dusting the new recruit, and the workload was starting to get to her. She had literally everything to do, Asgore was pissed at her for not having a second just in case something happened to her, and she was starting to get really mad. When Dulio had called her and told her that he thought they were in Snowdin now, she set out with a vengeance. But she would have to thank Dulio for this, maybe she would make him her new lieutenant. 

So now that she had found her second she could finally get some revenge for the extra workload and release some of her anger, something she really needed to do. She didn't laugh for long, not wanting to let her prey have a chance for escape or attack. 

“Do you have any clue how pissed Asgore was at me? Losing two sentries and then my second in command just disappearing!” Undyne shouted, not caring whether she woke up anyone in the town up. She looked next to Papyrus, spying Sans. “You weren't too much of a loss, but I still had to find someone to take over your job!” 

Undyne turned to look at the third monster and was surprised by what she saw. “And Queen Toriel,” she said mockingly, causing all three to glare at the fish angrily. “I’m sure Asgore will love to have you back,” she growled at them. Toriel bristled up at the thought of going back to the king. He had changed for the worse, and she wanted nothing to do with him, so even considering having to go back was a bad thought. 

Toriel quickly hurled a fireball at her, but Undyne blocked it with her spear. She wagged her finger at the angry ex-Queen. “You -all of you- are coming with me,” she stated definitively, waving her spear at the three monsters in the house. Sans looked slightly frightened, Toriel was trying to figure out something to do, and Papyrus glared at her angrily. “Over my dead body,” was all he said before striking out.

He feinted aiming for her, causing her to move to counter attack, but he struck out at the other monster. Just then Papyrus remembered his name, not that it mattered. (Because minds are like that) It caught Dulio off guard and Papyrus’ bone club hit him in the chest. He fell backward, not hurt much by the hut due to his armor. He attempted to get up, but Sans grabbed his soul with his blue magic and flung him far back into the trees. 

Undyne glanced back at her fallen companion and growled in rage, turning all of their souls green. Papyrus blocked the attacks sent at him, Sans tried to get out of the way of Undyne, and Toriel was not close enough to have to do anything but attempt several options so she could remember the properties of green magic. She used to know exactly what every color did, but a lack of practice and general necessity of knowing them leading her to forget. 

Undyne pushed Papyrus back with multiple attacks, pinning him to the wall. The captain the moved her attention to Sans and Toriel. Neither of them could move, but Toriel struck out none the less. She watched as the flames whizzed by Undyne as she ducked and blocked them all. Undyne continued forward until she was right on top of her, then released the goat woman’s soul and knocked her into a wall with one of her spears. 

Undyne had a reputation for being ridiculously strong, and she used her strength to her advantage, dealing damage with her spear as she took it and slammed it into Toriel's side, and using the strength in the blow to knock her sideways in the air so that her head would hit the wall, rendering her unconscious. Hopefully. But Toriel was ready and managed to half cover her head before it hit the wall. She was left dazed and not too seriously injured against the wall. 

Sans was next, and Papyrus tried to draw her attention away from him, but to no avail. Undyne only pointed a spear at his neck and left it there as a threat. Sans began to try to back away, but it didn't work since the green magic was still encasing his soul. So he only dropped his bag onto the floor and tried to summon up any magic without success. It was known that if she focussed all her power onto one soul that she could stall their magic, which is exactly what she was doing now. 

“you're first to go!” She screamed, jagged teeth pointed into a crazed smile. Sans could then hear the shouts of Toriel and his brother, both begging for her to stop. She had a spear pointed above Sans’ skull now and raised it. She started to bring it down but hesitated. She turned to look at her other opponents. 

“Heh, I didn't think you cared Papyrus!” She smirked. Papyrus held a steady glare, not allowing her to see whether she was correct in her assumption. “I guess I could spare him for now, let him see you die when I take you to Asgore…” The spear went back into Undyne’s hand. “Or maybe not,” she said, letting it lean in her grasp to almost touch his skull. “It would only take one hit.” 

The three from the Ruins were silent as Undyne tried to make up her mind. “Eh, fuck it, I'll torture him some later,” she declared. Sans sighed, knowing he would have another chance to escape when she wasn't completely focused on him. Just then a spear came out of nowhere and shot into his chest. “Whoops, my finger slipped,” she mocked. 

Undyne smiled like a crazy person, waiting a moment to feel the satisfaction of her EXP raising another few points, but nothing came. She turned, puzzled, and saw Sans sitting there with a hole in his shirt, black eye lights, and 3/10 HP left. She looked at him distastefully, then turned, only to have a bone shot at her face. It grazed the side of her head, knocking down her HP since it was the only thing that didn't have armor on it. 

She scowled at Papyrus, who had been the one to conjure the attack. “The price for that is your head,” she barked, lifting him up by the front of his armor and preparing to take the spear she had been threatening him with and use it to slice off his skull. She made it quick, but she wasn't fast enough. Sans had somehow managed to break free of her influence and had summoned up a gaster blaster to shield his brother from her attack. 

He quickly turned her soul blue and threw it around, eventually throwing her out the door. He kept her pinned to the ground as he ran over to his brother. He would have gone to Toriel, but he knew he wouldn't be able to support her weight alone. They were quickly on their feet and then helped Toriel to do the same. All three of them gathered their bags and stepped outside to face Undyne. 

She was slightly dazed, but still very aware. She began to swear at them and try to attack them again, but to no avail for herself. When she tried to reach and choke Papyrus, then Sans drew the line. He took another gaster blaster and shot it directly at her, leaving her at one HP, despite all her armor’s protection. Then Sans grabbed Toriel's paw and his brothers hand, and teleported them home. 

_____________VER 2

Undyne laughed at her luck. She had been without a second in command for more than a week, more if you count the time he was suspended for dusting the new recruit, and the workload was starting to get to her. She had literally everything to do, Asgore was pissed at her for not having a second just in case something happened to her, and she was starting to get really mad. When Dulio had called her and told her that he thought they were in Snowdin now, she set out with a vengeance. 

So now that she had found her second she could finally get some revenge for the extra workload and release some of her anger, something she really needed to do. She didn't laugh for long, not wanting to let her prey have a chance for escape or have a chance to attack. 

“Do you have any clue how pissed Asgore was at me? Losing two sentries and then my second in command just disappearing!” Undyne shouted, not caring whether she woke up anyone in the town up. She looked next to Papyrus, spying Sans. “You weren't too much of a loss, but I still had to find someone to take over your job!” 

Undyne turned to look at the third monster and was surprised by what she saw. “And Queen Toriel,” she said mockingly, causing all three to glare at the fish angrily. “I’m sure Asgore will love to have you back,” she growled at them. Toriel bristled up at the thought of going back to the king. He had changed for the worse, and she wanted nothing to do with him, so even considering having to go back was a bad thought. 

Toriel quickly hurled a fireball at her, but Undyne blocked it with her spear. She wagged her finger at the angry ex-Queen. “You -all of you- are coming with me,” she stated definitively, waving her spear at the three monsters in the house. Sans looked slightly frightened, Toriel was trying to figure out something to do, and Papyrus glared at her angrily. “Over my dead body,” was all he said before striking out.

Undyne skillfully intercepted the blow, returning it with her own. “That's what I'm planning,” she retaliated. It suddenly became like one of their sparring matches, neither really winning, neither wanting to lose. Toriel pulled Sans away from the fight knowing that it wouldn't take much more than a stray hit to dust him. 

“I can't lose Papyrus,” Undyne taunted, “I taught you every move you know.” She whirled her spear beneath Papyrus’ feet, making him jump to avoid getting knocked to his feet. But before she could take her spear back he used a bone to pin it to the ground. Neither one of their magic was strong enough to outdo the other, so it acted as a weight as Papyrus took another bond and used it to knock Undyne over on the ground. 

“You didn't teach me that one,” he mocked, staring at her on the floor. Sans and Toriel were both watching carefully, making sure that Papyrus didn't get hurt too badly. But Undyne was not a clean fighter and showed it now. She summoned a spear behind Papyrus’ skull and shot it. Well, Sans wasn't having any of the and blocked it with his own attack, the spear shattering upon impact with it. 

Papyrus would have turned around, but he knew that if he did Undyne would get the better of him. FINISH LATER LOL 

(And then I never finished it lol)

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty happy with AKATD, and I hope you all feel the same way. (I'm also pretty glad I decided not to include these, or else it may have been a very different story here!  
> And with that, I think I am done here...  
> ...  
> (Wow, still never thought this would happen lol)

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I know that wasn't very long, but still, it's beginning...  
> Next part will start out with Papyrus to mix things up a bit,(and bring some light angst)  
> If anyone actually reads some of my stuff, you'll notice how I have like a million situations for the same characters that would have to happen in different timelines in order to make sense.  
> Like I said, don't judge...
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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